Winter is a busy time for the Almond Board of Australia’s industry development team.
Staff have been travelling to all the major growing regions running workshops for almond growers.
It has been pleasing to see people with 20 years of experience in the industry and newcomers benefitting from these sessions.
“You never stop learning,” was the comment made by one of the industry veterans who came to the nutrition workshop at Irymple last month.
A lot of skills are needed to grow quality almonds and inputs are expensive, so you want to get bang for your buck.
The nutrition workshops covered a range of topics including almond tree requirements, nutrient balances, fertiliser formulations and types, the supply chain, safety and the environment.
While some time is spent sitting in a classroom, hands on activities were also included.
It’s also been pleasing to see everyone actively participating in discussions and learning from each other.
While the ABA coordinates these workshops, industry experts are also involved and we are very grateful for their contributions.
This month irrigation is the theme.
Already this month almond growers, irrigation staff, managers and owner/operators have assessed soil pits and drip irrigation systems.
Presenters have also been willing to work with individuals looking at their irrigation designs and soil moisture monitoring data.
But wait there’s still more to come.
Irrigation system drainage is proving to be one of the most challenging aspects of achieving efficient irrigation, so the ABA has organised a workshop in Irymple on July 31.
The four hour session will cover off on measuring system drainage volumes and the extent of the problem, non drain dripline products, dripline non-leak products, submain design, flushing arrangements, valve locations, management and grower case studies.
In addition to the face to face workshops, webinars have also been on offer.
More than 160 Californian growers tuned into a webinar last week about how the Australian almond industry has been attempting to combat Carpophilus beetle.
The tiny pest that likes to munch on almond kernels has been present in Australian almond orchards since 2011 and last year it has been found in California.
Josh Fielke from the ABA, David Madge from Agriculture Victoria, Ben Brown from Select Harvests and Ben Wiblin from Almondco were joined by Californian researchers.
Australian research was presented, along with pest management from a grower and processor perspective.
The Australian Almond Conference in early October, will provide even more learning and networking opportunities for our industry.
Further information about ABA events can be found online at www.almondboard.org.au/events.