may-jun-2019

CULTIVATING SUSTAINABILITY The Case for Participation in the California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP) in the words of Mike Griffin, Blue Diamond Regional Manager Blue Diamond ’s members understand that marketing in the form of open, honest communication is one of the keys to success for the almond industry. The traditional arrangement has been for the members to produce the crops and for the cooperative to do the marketing. Now it is vital for our growers to be part of the marketing effort by providing information, in anonymity as a group, that will show our customers how responsible we are as stewards of the land and members of the community. The recent drought gave us the warning shot. We all saw the public outcry when articles were published about how much water almond farmers used to reap profits. Suddenly we were vilified for using water that we had invested in and developed to provide a reliable food source for the world. It took a huge education campaign by the Almond Board to demonstrate the increasing efficiency of our growers. Today, media stories continue to inspire consumers to question their food and how it is produced. They want to know how environmentally, economically, and socially responsible we are as producers. This is why we are asking our growers to participate in the Almond Board’s California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP). When you take the time to complete a survey in CASP, you have the opportunity to designate that you are a Blue Diamond grower. As you do this, the information collected will be Blue Diamond specific, and will give us 2 0 A L M O N D F A C T S