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Almond sustainability based in generations of orchard stewardship.

Founded to protect farmers. Investing in a better world.

In 1910, a cooperative named California Almond Growers Exchange was founded to help protect small almond farms in a volatile marketplace. Over 110 years later, the co-op now known as Blue Diamond Growers remains committed to sustaining member farms as well as the surrounding land. Most of our approximately 3,000 member farms are family-owned and operated and average under 100 acres of almonds.

See how we’re investing in sustainability efforts and incentives with our growers today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Orchard StewardshipWater ConservationBiodiversity & PollinatorsCarbon EmissionsRecycling

Stay in the Know on How We Grow.

Pint-sized Lessons in Sustainability

Word on the street is Blue Diamond grows almonds with sustainability in mind. But don’t just take our word for it, hear it from the growers themselves. We keep it fun as we talk about water-usage, honey bee population, and more.

Watch the Videos

Orchard Stewardship Incentive Program

We invest in regenerative practices by offering our farmers financial incentives for their efforts in sustainability.

In 2020, we started offering more money for almonds that come from farms participating in a comprehensive almond sustainability program from the Almond Board of California. To obtain the highest incentive in our program, growers must also assess their carbon footprint and achieve Bee Friendly Farming® Certification.

  • Blue Diamond Growers has more acres in a sustainability program than any other almond company.
  • By June 2022, 40% of Blue Diamond orchard acreage had joined the program.
  • Additionally, 11% of all Blue Diamond Growers acreage is Bee Friendly Farming® certified.
  • Small, medium and large farms are all well represented in the Orchard Stewardship Incentive Program.

In partnership with:

  • California Almond
  • Bee Friendly Farming

Water Conservation

For over 20 years, Blue Diamond Growers has been committed to water conservation in almond farming.

As a grower-owned cooperative, we share the same concerns that many others have about water usage, and we are committed to being part of the water solution. We pride ourselves on being leaders in agriculture water efficiency and work hand-in-hand with the Almond Board of California to research and invest in ways to become more water-efficient.

  • California almond farms use 33% less water to grow one pound of almonds today than they did in 1990.
  • Almonds only use 14% of the water used for growing food in California, even though they grow on 21% of the state’s farmland.
  • More than 90% of Blue Diamond almond orchards use efficient micro-irrigation systems, as estimated from our sustainability data. That’s nearly twice the average you generally find in California crops.
  • The Orchard Stewardship Incentive Program connects growers with irrigation resources to meet an industry goal of reducing almond water use by another 20% by 2025.

Biodiversity & Pollinators

We invest in connecting farmers to resources for planting cover crops and providing resources for pollinators.

Blue Diamond Growers has partnerships with leading honeybee health organizations including Project Apis m., Bee Informed Partnership, and the Pollinator Partnership. These programs help farmers provide pollinator-friendly biodiversity in and around the orchards and advance research for bees and other pollinators.

  • 11% of our farmer acres are now Bee Friendly Farming® Certified.
  • Since 2018, over 200 Blue Diamond farms have grown cover crops on more than 9,000 acres through Seeds for Bees.
  • We partner each year with Project Apis M. to sponsor Seeds for Bees, which provides free or low-cost seeds for farmers to plant cover crops for pollinators. This also is a beneficial practice for soil health and preventing climate change.
  • Since 1995, the California almond community has committed $3.7 million through 126 research projects to address the major factors impacting honey bee health.

In partnership with:

  • Project Apis
  • Bee Informed
  • Pollinator Partnership

Carbon Emissions

We are constantly looking to leaders in the field for ways to reduce our carbon footprint even further.

Like trees in a forest, almond trees use photosynthesis to take CO2 out of the atmosphere and turn it into the components of the wood in the tree. Like a small forest, an almond orchard absorbs carbon from the atmosphere for the 25 year life span of the trees.

  • Research suggests that by turning the trees into wood chips at the end of life and burying the chips in the soil, referred to as whole orchard recycling, orchards may sequester carbon for even longer periods.
  • We partner with organizations that help growers plant cover crops for pollinator benefit. A secondary benefit of these plants is increased soil organic matter. Carbon is taken out of the atmosphere and put into the soil.
  • Our manufacturing sites have sustainability teams exploring ways to reduce manufacturing emissions.
  • Blue Diamond recently quantified our carbon footprint to show us where to invest our efforts at carbon reductions.

Recycling

We’ve partnered with How2Recycle and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition to help guide you in recycling our product containers.

See Recycling instructions