PRESIDENT’S CORNER
I enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk with many of you at the recent District Meetings held throughout the state. This was my first chance to participate, and I was impressed with the turnout and the honest, thoughtful conversation at each session.
It’s no secret that the industry is facing extraordinary challenges this crop year as a result of numerous factors combined. During the District Meetings, Mel Machado listed out just some of the unique influences that have contributed to this year’s challenges — an outlier 2020 crop yield that impacted market pricing and drove up inventory carryout; unprecedented supply chain and shipping disruptions produced by the COVID pandemic, unforeseen fiscal impacts fueled by inflation; global challenges and high interest rates that in some instances tripled input costs for our growers; and, of course, the extreme weather conditions growers faced during bloom. Mel eloquently summed it up by saying, “Farmers are a resilient bunch, and if we faced any of those factors by themselves, we could have handled it without pause. But all of those factors building together makes it impossible to avoid significant impacts.” So for all those reasons and more, yes, we are facing considerable headwinds as an industry. But I want to assure you that your Blue Diamond team is up for the challenge. We’ve spent the last two months building a strategic plan for the next three years from the ground up to address the unique challenges and opportunities we foresee for the co-op. Over the last century, Blue Diamond Growers has thrived on a solid foundation built by supplying quality almonds that meet the needs
of our customers and markets around the globe. However, given the unique challenges we are facing this year, it’s important to recognize that what got us to where we are today is not what’s going to ensure our success tomorrow. So I’ve challenged our leadership teams across the co-op — Innovation, Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing, Procurement, IT — to dive deep and think outside the box to find solutions that expand markets and uses for your high-quality almonds. We’re also looking at ways to cut costs and increase efficiencies across every area of our co-op. Maximizing our global supply chain and procurement partnerships to help reduce our growers’ input costs is just one example of those opportunities. You will hear more about this in the coming months. As I write this, we’ve just launched our USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Grant Program, which offers financial incentives and no-cost seed to Blue Diamond growers for implementing cover crops or conservation cover on your acreage. Since the announcement of the USDA grant award last year, our Sustainability and Member Relations teams have been working tirelessly to bring this grant to life. Thank you all for your patience in this process. In addition to helping sequester carbon, these practices, which many of you already implement, further enhance soil health and resiliency of your orchards.
Kai Bockmann President & CEO
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ALMOND FACTS
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