Almond Board Helps Identify Technology Research Priorities

Workshop highlights coordinated effort to solve specialty crops challenges through engineering and technology research

By Marni Katz

Special to California Almonds

June 2007 Edition

The Almond Board of California and other specialty crop industries are engaged in a coordinated effort with government scientists and technology providers to identify and secure funding for engineering research to solve common industry challenges.

Gabriele Ludwig, the Almond Board’s Senior Manager of Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs and Mel Machado, Field Supervisor for Blue Diamond Growers, participated in an April workshop titled “Engineering Solutions for Specialty Crop Challenges.” The workshop was sponsored by The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) along with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The purpose of the meeting was to develop a community of scientists, industry members and private sector technology companies to begin a coordinated interagency process to prioritize research efforts and link grower needs with potential technical research sources.

The proposed U.S. 2007 Farm Bill has earmarked potentially hundreds of millions of dollars for research, and a significant chunk could go to specialty crops. Technological research for specialty crops is one of five research areas currently proposed in the spending bill.

Innovations in agricultural engineering in the public arena, particularly through land grant universities, has waned in recent years, but tight labor markets, environmental challenges, food safety and other issues are bringing the need for new engineering technologies to the forefront, Ludwig said.

Ludwig and representatives from almond grower cooperative Blue Diamond Growers highlighted the need for new technologies to reduce the environmental impacts of growing almonds.

“It was an interesting opportunity for different perennial crop groups to lay out the kind of issues their industries face and where they think technology in some way could help solve some of the difficult issues before them,” said Ludwig.  “It was also an opportunity to hear about various new types of sensors from micro to macro scales and robotic technologies from engineers around the country.”

At the workshop, Ludwig reported on various environmental issues and how research into sensor technology and other innovations could help growers use inputs more efficiently to address them.

“We discussed the need for finding technological solutions to air quality, water quality, endangered species and pesticide use efficiency issues,” she said.

Representatives for specialty crops industries, including stone fruit, tree nuts, apples, grapes, citrus and berries, have been working for nearly two years to identify common research priorities and advocate for greater research for specialty crops.

“The Almond Board has been deeply engaged in establishing this process and will continue to work with USDA and other agencies in looking at ways to make funding for new technologies available to almond growers,” Ludwig added. “This workshop was a good beginning to help educate engineers about our challenges. It established momentum toward getting research going and now we hope to maintain that momentum.”

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