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Almond Facts
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2017
Almond Board of California (ABC) now has
an outreach program to help almond growers
attain their goals of increased water efficiency
through in-the-orchard visits. Spencer Cooper,
senior manager, Irrigation and Water Efficiency,
will have boots on the ground and other
outreach activities to provide system-specific
recommendations to increase the “crop per
drop” on an orchard-by-orchard basis.
This new position is the latest step taken by ABC to
meet the objectives of the Accelerated Innovation
Management (AIM) program, adopted by the Board of
Directors to promote the innovative farming practices
that will be required to meet the future needs of the
California Almond industry, as well as the consumer,
the community and the planet.
Irrigation Improvement
Continuum
A priority of the AIM program is the Almond Irrigation
Improvement Continuum, a comprehensive manual
of irrigation management and scheduling practices.
Recognizing that growers may be operating at different
stages of irrigation efficiency, the Continuum provides
information at three proficiency levels (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0),
each covering the following categories and how to execute
and effectively integrate them:
• Measuring irrigation system performance
and efficiency
• Estimating orchard water requirements based
on evapotranspiration
• Determining the amount of water applied
Blue Diamond
Grower Kent Stenderup (far left), visits with (left to right) Mohammad Yaghmour,
Kern County almond farm advisor; ABC’s Spencer Cooper and Bob Curtis; and Kent’s father,
Verner, during a review of the Stenderups’ irrigation system. Cooper recently joined the Almond
Board to provide outreach to all California Almond growers on irrigation and water efficiency.
Almond Board Reaches Out to Growers
with In-Field Irrigation Expertise
