California is in the grips of a four-year drought, and there seems to be no end in sight. Under these dire circumstances, Californians are being urged to save every drop of water that they can. Last spring, California Gov. Jerry Brown instructed cities and towns to cut water use by 25 percent.
Nowhere are those water conservation efforts more evident than at farms around the Golden State, and perhaps no water-dependent crop is affected more than the almond, California’s No. 1 agricultural export. On 1 million acres of orchards, California produces 99 percent of the almonds consumed in the U.S., where the protein-packed, heart-healthy almond now reigns as the most popular nut among American consumers.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s math, it takes 502 gallons of water to produce a pound of California almonds. If you apply that math to the amount of California almonds harvested in 2014-15 (1.87 billion pounds), you come up with nearly 940 billion gallons of water used for the almond crop. Representatives of the almond industry are quick to point out, however, that growers are producing more almonds with less water, thanks to various innovations.
While it’s “shocking” how much water it takes to grow an almond, David Doll, an almond expert with the University of California Cooperative Extension, notes that it takes a lot of water to produce all sorts of food. He cites data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimating a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet of plant-based food relies on about 525 gallons of agricultural water per day.
“With the risk of sounding too harsh, it would be of benefit if everyone opened their high school biology textbooks to learn why and how plants need and use water,” says Doll, who’s known as “The Almond Doctor.”
Drought ‘Scapegoat’
To be sure, the multibillion-dollar almond industry has borne its share of criticism during the California drought. For instance, Mother Jones magazine reported in January 2015 that the hub of almond farming in California — the central part of the state — is where the worst drought conditions are occurring.
“The amount of water that California uses annually to produce almond exports would provide water for all Los Angeles homes and businesses for almost three years,” Mother Jones reported.
In November, Mark Jansen, president and CEO of Blue Diamond Growers, the world’s largest processor and marketer of almonds, lashed out at traditional media (such as Mother Jones) and social media for treating the almond industry at one point as a “villain” and “scapegoat” in California’s drought. Jansen says an industrywide effort has helped reverse that misperception.
More Almonds, Less Water
A key component of the almond industry’s drought-related messaging has revolved around sustainable farming.
Since 1994, the industry-backed Almond Board of California has financed nearly 100 irrigation research projects that have sliced by 33 percent the amount of water required to grow a pound of almonds. For instance, the Almond Board says, 83 percent of the state’s almond growers have embraced something known as demand-based irrigation. Through this method, almond growers monitor things like soil moisture, trees’ water levels and weather conditions to figure out when to water their orchards, instead of watering them automatically on a rigid schedule.
In examining the almond industry’s water consumption, Doll stresses that the edible part of an almond isn’t the only beneficial part of the nut. Almond hulls are used for cattle feed, he says, while almond shells are turned into livestock bedding and converted into energy.
“Considering that the combined weight of the shell and hull is three times the weight of the [edible] kernel, there is a significant amount of this material that has other uses,” Doll says. So, water that goes toward growing almonds supports much more than the food chain.
What’s Ahead for Almonds?
Doll says smart management of water resources has helped hold off dramatic declines in production of almonds and other crops in California. He hopes farmers will see some relief this winter in the form of plentiful mountain snow, the major source of California’s water supply. Once that relief comes, it’ll take two or three years for farmers to recover from one of the worst California droughts on record, Doll says.
“As sources of water become more scarce, production drops,” he says. “Reduced supply leads to an increase in prices.”
In other words, you could wind up paying more for almonds, almond milk, almond butter and other almond products if the drought continues to sap California’s water supply. As it stands now, almond prices are at record-high levels, in large part thanks to heightened consumer demand.
“As the drought continues, it is hard to predict how it will impact the almond yield exactly, but … growers are continuing to produce more almonds with less water,” says Carissa Sauer, manager of industry communications at the Almond Board of California.
Even if the drought lingers, the California almond industry will keep seeking ways to dampen its impact, according to Sauer. Already, 70 percent of almond growers in California depend on micro-irrigation systems, which deliver water directly to the base of an almond tree. This decreases water runoff and allows for more precise irrigation compared with the traditional method of watering crops, called flood irrigation.
“California’s almond growers have an established history of environmental stewardship, from promoting bee health to repurposing orchard co-products, and continually improving irrigation and monitoring practices,” Sauer says.