CULTIVATING SUSTAINABILITY
Moeller Farms and OSIP Implementing Blue Diamond’s Orchard Stewardship Incentive Program (OSIP) and the practices supported by the USDA-funded Climate-Smart Grant (CSG) may seem daunting. Steve Moeller, Triple Diamond OSIP member, who runs a fourth-generation almond farm with his family, shares his story, stewardship practices and how these have impacted their farming operations. Steve is a member of his district’s Grower Liaison Committee and has been a Blue Diamond member since 1985. Moeller Farms is Bee Friendly Certified and is operated by Steve and Micki Moeller, Andrew Moeller, Chris Moeller, and Carrie Davis. Almond Facts (AF): Thank you for letting Almond Facts join you at your farm to talk about your involvement in OSIP and CSG in your operations at Moeller Farms. Your children are the fourth generation working this almond farm, and the fifth generation is still too young to jump in and join at this point, but we know that’s the hope! As a member of the Grower Liaison Committee whose operations are Bee Friendly Farming Certified and Triple Diamond status in OSIP, it’s clear you’re all doing a lot here. Could you share a little about your operations and your history with Blue Diamond ? Steve Moeller (SM): I’ve been a Blue Diamond member since 1985. But before that, my wife’s grandfather, Alfred Koehn, was a member who joined in the 1940s. The family ran a small dairy farm back then. AF: So, if it started as a dairy, how did your family get into almonds ? SM: I wasn’t around when that began, but Alfred started growing almonds because he could see the potential in almond farming. My father-in-law, Willis Nichols, farmed alfalfa, sweet potatoes and watermelon before he planted almonds in the 1960s. I grew up in agriculture in the Patterson area, and I began working with almonds when my wife and I got married in 1980.
Steve Moeller examining an almond just prior to harvest
AF: What motivated you to continue your family’s Blue Diamond membership after all these years ? SM: Stability. I was busy working as a pharmacist, as well as a hands-on farmer. I didn’t want to have to track down payments for my almond crops. I don’t have to do that with Blue Diamond . Blue Diamond was going through a rough patch in the 1980s and some growers went to independent handlers, but I didn’t want to do that. I’d drop my product off and the banker would say, “ Blue Diamond , you’ll get your money.” Blue Diamond is dependable, and the payments come through quickly. I like farmer-owned co-ops like Blue Diamond because you may not always get the top dollar, but you’re going to get near the top dollar, and there’s stability and assurance that you will be paid. AF: Now let’s talk a little bit about Blue Diamond ’s Orchard Stewardship Incentive Program (OSIP). Why did you decide to join OSIP ? SM: We were already doing some of what OSIP required that wasn’t being reported, so when Blue Diamond started putting a financial incentive value to what we were already doing, we thought, why not get credit for it ? I retired from the pharmacy recently, and I am still farming with my sons. I had a talk with them years ago and I decided that if they
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ALMOND FACTS
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