An article from Perspectives From the Field
Writing by Carl Evers III, AgIS Capital Director of Sustainability
As we are wrapping up almond and walnut harvest on our client assets, our asset management team has been enjoying the benefits of leaving a live cover crop in the orchard middles this harvest season instead of spraying or cultivating to remove them.
Traditionally, tree nut farmers would like to harvest on smooth, bare soil. However, we have learned that in addition to the obvious soil health benefits of keeping living plants covering the soil year-round in the orchard, there are many operational benefits to working with properly managed cover crops during harvest as well.
Operational benefits to working with properly managed cover crops during harvest:
- Dust is significantly reduced, which improves air quality, and safety for everyone working nearby.
- Wear parts on the harvest equipment such as bearings, chains, and bushings last longer with the reduced amount of dust and dirt getting run through them.
- We ship less dirt, rock, or other foreign material to the processor, which is more profitable for both our client and the processor.
An example of our cover cropping strategy on an almond asset
Once the winter rains come after harvest, we will not have to worry about any erosion or soil stabilization issues, because our cover crops will be there to hold everything in place. This is just another example of how working with natural systems can benefit the performance of farm enterprise, no matter how simple the practice may seem.
Learn more about AgIS Capital’s Sustainability efforts on our Responsibility page.
