WASCO, CA — The Almond Project, a partnership between Simple Mills, Daily Harvest and Cappello’s, is bringing brands together to implement and evaluate regenerative soil health and make almond farming more sustainable.
The multi-year farmer-led program will utilize the expertise of third-generation almond growers at Treehouse California Almonds (TCA) to conduct soil health research in California’s Central Valley. California supplies 80 percent of the world’s almonds, and climate extremes in the state threaten almonds and the livelihoods of almond farmers.
“If we want to abate the effects of climate change, safeguard farmer livelihoods, and continue to enjoy the nutritional benefits of almonds, we must build a more resilient food system,” said Rachel Drori, founder and CEO of Daily Harvest.
Despite evidence of how key soil health is for food crops long-term, there is little practical research available on the topic. And almond farmers face fiscal risk when implementing these practices.
“Almonds are a nutrient-dense powerhouse that have always been an integral part of our portfolio and we’re thrilled to be a part of this groundbreaking partnership to reimagine almond farming now and for generations to come,” said Katlin Smith, founder and CEO of Simple Mills.
The Almond Project’s partners and growers will collaborate to integrate soil health practices on two 80-acre blocks of farmland – one conventional and one organic – over the next five years. Practices include cover cropping, animal integration, composting and the reduction of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Simple Mills and Daily Harvest will collaborate with TCA and White Buffalo Land Trust – a nonprofit focused on systems of regenerative agriculture — to support farmers in the adoption of regenerative principles.
“We view partnering with the farmers who steward this precious land as both a privilege and an extraordinary opportunity,” said Stacey Marcellus, co-founder and co-CEO of Cappello’s. “This project is based on regenerative agricultural practices that involve time, effort, and risk for growers. The resources needed for research are something worthy of sharing in the responsibility.”
Cappello’s will support the nonprofit through the Savory Institute to test the Ecological Outcome Verification protocol in the almond orchard block. This measures ecological outcomes on a producers’ land, and the trial will serve as a resource to establish a verification program for almonds and other perennial crops. The test would enter farms into the Land to Market Verified Regenerative Supplier Roster if the result is positive.
Almonds continue to enjoy popularity as an inclusion in baked goods and other types of food with a health halo. The nut offers 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein per serving, in addition to containing seven essential vitamins and nutrients according to the Almond Board of California. Innova Market Insights also notes that nearly three-quarters of product launches in North America that have health claims feature almonds.