Category: Back to the Planet
Project title: Scaling Regenerative Agriculture & Climate Impact Across Almond Supply Chain: ofi & KIND Almond Acres Initiative.
Project type: Research and Development (R&D), Pilot Project or Feasibility Study, Business Implementation or Operational Initiative, Product Design and Innovation.
Relevant SDG(s):
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 13: Climate Action
- Goal 15: Life on Land
Primary topic(s):
- Industrial Innovation and Automation
- Digital Solutions for Sustainability
- Net Zero Strategies and Scope 3 Emissions
- Nature-positive Solutions and Regenerative Agriculture
- Circular Economy
- Water Stewardship and Management
- Supply Chain Transparency and Traceability
- Sustainable Sourcing and Procurement
Relevant product(s): Almonds
Project end date: April 2027 Duration: 4 years, but not limited
Location: USA
Is this a multi-collaborative project? Yes. This is a multi-collaborative project bringing together cross-sector expertise. Partners include Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) and KIND LLC, working alongside leading research institutions such as UC Merced and UC Davis, and technology and sustainability innovators Nitricity, LandScan, and Beewise. Together, these partners combine scientific research, regenerative agriculture practices, and advanced ag-tech solutions to drive measurable environmental improvements in almond farming.
ABSTRACT:
Background and Purpose
Climate change, water scarcity, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss are placing increasing pressure on the nut and dried-fruit industry, particularly in regions where long-lived perennial crops like almonds are grown. California, which produces 80% of the world’s almonds, faces some of the most urgent environmental challenges, making it a critical landscape for testing scalable, evidence-based sustainability solutions. The KIND Almond Acres Initiative was created in response to this need between ofi and KIND. Through a three-year regenerative agriculture pilot across 920 acres of ofi-managed almond orchards, the initiative aims to identify practical, high-impact farming practices that can reduce environmental footprint while improving long-term ecosystem resilience. The project supports KIND’s public commitment to source 100% of its almonds from regenerative farms by 2030, and ofi’s Almond Trail target of 21,078 ha brought under regenerative agricultural practices by 2030 while generating insights that can benefit the broader nut industry.
Project Objectives, Scope, and Scale
The Kind Almond Acres Initiative is designed as a “living, learning lab” to evaluate which regenerative agriculture practices deliver the greatest environmental benefits in almond production. The project tests five key interventions, each selected for its potential to improve soil health, water efficiency, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity:
- Cover crops: Five-species blends planted to improve soil structure, increase organic matter, enhance pollinator habitat, and build climate resilience.
- Subsurface irrigation: A technology designed to improve water-use efficiency and support the California almond industry’s goal of reducing water per pound of almonds by an additional 20% by 2025.
- Whole orchard recycling: A 38-acre trial assessing the soil-carbon and soil-health benefits of reincorporating chipped almond trees into the orchard floor at the end of their lifecycle.
- Compost and biochar applications: Including biochar produced from almond shells, to reduce fertilizer needs, increase soil carbon, and improve water retention.
- Off-ground harvesting: A method that reduces dust pollution and minimizes soil disturbance during harvest operations.
These practices are implemented simultaneously across the pilot acreage, allowing researchers to evaluate both individual and combined effects. The initiative is intentionally transparent, with ofi and Kind publicly positioning the site as a research platform to share findings with growers, researchers, and industry stakeholders.
Innovation, Leadership, and Unique Approach
The Kind Almond Acres Initiative stands out for its integration of regenerative agriculture science, advanced ag-tech experimentation, and cross-sector collaboration. Regenerative agriculture in almond production is still emerging, and many practices lack real-world data specific to California’s climate and soil conditions. By testing multiple interventions at once—cover crops, biochar, compost, whole orchard recycling, subsurface irrigation, and off-ground harvesting—the project represents one of the most comprehensive regenerative almond pilots globally.
The initiative also brings together diverse expertise: ofi’s operational and agronomic capabilities, Kind’s sustainability leadership, university research partners, and technology innovators such as Nitricity, LandScan, and Beewise. This collaborative model accelerates learning, strengthens scientific rigor, and increases the likelihood that successful practices can be scaled across the industry.
Contribution to Sustainability in the Nut Industry
The project directly advances environmental sustainability in almond production and offers a replicable model for other nut and dried-fruit supply chains. Key contributions include:
- Improved soil health and carbon storage: Through cover crops, compost, biochar, and whole orchard recycling, the initiative enhances soil organic matter, increases carbon sequestration, and improves long-term soil fertility.
- Reduced water consumption: Subsurface irrigation and improved soil structure help optimize water use in a drought-prone region.
- Lower fertilizer-related emissions: Compost and biochar reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers, lowering nitrous oxide emissions and improving nutrient efficiency.
- Enhanced biodiversity and pollinator health: Cover crops and pollinator-friendly practices support bee populations and broader ecosystem health.
- Increased climate resilience: Regenerative practices strengthen the orchard’s ability to withstand drought, heat stress, and extreme weather events.
- Scalable models for low-carbon nut production: The initiative generates practical, data-driven insights that can be adopted by growers across California and other nut-producing regions.
By combining scientific research, regenerative practices, and industry leadership, the Kind Almond Acres Initiative demonstrates how environmental sustainability can be embedded directly into nut supply chains. The project not only supports ofi’s and Kind’s regenerative sourcing goals but also contributes valuable knowledge to the wider industry, helping accelerate the transition toward climate-resilient, low-impact nut production.
OBJECTIVES:
The project aims to advance regenerative agriculture in almond production by testing and validating soil-health–building practices such as cover crops, subsurface irrigation, whole orchard recycling, compost, and biochar. It seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through low-carbon nutrient strategies and precision agronomy, while strengthening climate resilience by improving soil structure, water retention, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. The initiative also generates scientific data and farmer-level insights to support large-scale adoption of climate-smart practices and contributes to long-term sustainability commitments through collaborative, commercially viable environmental action.
IMPACT AND OUTCOMES:
The KIND Almond Acres Initiative, implemented on ofi-managed orchards and driven by ofi’s agronomy, sustainability, and research teams, demonstrates a scalable model for advancing climate action, soil regeneration, water stewardship, and carbon reduction in almond production. Through rigorous field trials and scientific measurement, the project addresses critical environmental gaps while generating actionable insights that can transform nut supply chains toward regenerative, low-carbon production.
1. Addressing Key Environmental Gaps in Nut Supply Chains
Almond production faces significant environmental pressures, including soil carbon depletion, water scarcity, fertilizer-related emissions, and declining pollinator populations. ofi highlights that the global food system contributes one-third of total greenhouse gas emissions, and regenerative agriculture must expand from 15% to 40% of global farmland by 2030 to remain aligned with a 1.5°C climate pathway. California —where ofi manages extensive almond acreage and where 80% of the world’s almonds are grown— is particularly vulnerable to drought, heat stress, and groundwater depletion. These challenges make it essential to identify crop-specific regenerative practices that strengthen resilience while reducing environmental impact. The Almond Acres Initiative directly responds to this need, with ofi leading the agronomic design, field implementation, and scientific data collection across the 920-acre project.
2. Measurable Environmental Results Led by ofi Agronomy Teams
The initiative’s purpose is to determine which regenerative agriculture practices deliver the strongest environmental outcomes for almonds in California’s climate. ofi’s agronomy team conducts the field trials, soil sampling, emissions modeling, and water-use monitoring that underpin the project’s scientific rigor.
a) Soil Health & Carbon Sequestration
ofi is testing five core regenerative practices that collectively enhance soil function and long-term carbon storage:
- Cover crops improve soil structure, increase organic matter, support pollinator habitat, and build climate resilience.
- Whole orchard recycling, applied across 38 acres, reincorporates chipped old trees into the soil, increasing carbon sequestration, nutrient availability, and long-term soil fertility.
- Compost and biochar applications, including biochar derived from almond shells, boost soil organic matter, improve water retention, and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers.
These interventions reinforce ofi’s regenerative principle that healthier soils support biodiversity, store more carbon, and improve water-holding capacity—ultimately enabling almonds to be grown in a more climate-positive way.
3. Water Stewardship: Demonstrated Reductions in Water Use
The water-use monitoring shows a significant improvement in irrigation efficiency:
- Baseline (2020–2022 average): 4.35 ML/t
- Project period (2023–2024 average): 3.50 ML/t
This represents a 19.5% reduction in water use per tonne of almonds, driven by subsurface irrigation and improved soil structure from regenerative practices. These results directly support California’s almond industry goal to reduce water use per pound of almonds by an additional 20% by 2025.
4. Air Quality & Soil Protection
Transition to off-ground harvesting reduces dust emissions and minimizes soil disturbance during harvest operations. This shift benefits both environmental quality and surrounding communities, while helping maintain soil structure and reduce erosion.
Emissions Reduction & Fertilizer Optimization
ofi conducted detailed emissions modeling to identify the largest contributors to orchard-level greenhouse gas emissions:
- Fertilizer production: 31%
- Diesel use: 23%
- Field emissions (N₂O): 21%
ofi also applied Tier N₂O emission factors, resulting in 11% lower estimated N₂O emissions compared to Tier 1 estimates — a more accurate reflection of real-world conditions.
Fertilizer production breakdown (largest contributors):
- UAN: 21%
- Potassium: 9%
- Yara CAN-17: 3%
The analysis shows that if conventional CAN were used instead of Yara CAN-17, the emissions factor would increase from 1.93 kg CO₂-e/kg to 2.13 kg CO₂-e/kg, demonstrating the importance of fertilizer selection in reducing upstream emissions.
These insights are now informing ofi’s broader nutrient-management strategy across its almond footprint.
Innovation, Scalability, and System Transformation
The initiative is one of the most comprehensive field-tested regenerative agriculture pilots in almond production. Its innovations include:
- Crop-specific regenerative experimentation tailored to California’s climate and soil conditions
- Low-carbon nutrient strategies informed by emissions modeling
- Precision agronomy tools that improve nutrient-use efficiency
- A transparent “living, learning lab” model designed to share insights with growers and researchers
The project is already scaled from 500 acres to 920 acres in 4 years, demonstrating strong potential for broader adoption across ofi’s almond footprint and beyond with other growers in California.
Summary of Environmental Impact
- Soil health: Increased soil carbon, improved structure, and enhanced water retention
- Water efficiency: 19.5% reduction in water use per tonne of almonds
- Air quality: Reduced dust and minimized soil disturbance
- Biodiversity: Improved pollinator habitat
- Climate action: Lower fertilizer-related emissions and improved N₂O modeling accuracy
In what ways is the project innovative?
The project is innovative in its integration of advanced technologies and regenerative practices across ofi-managed orchards. Subsurface irrigation delivers water directly to tree roots, improving efficiency and reducing losses in a drought-stressed region. LandScan’s digital-twin technology, adopted early by ofi, creates a high-resolution virtual model of orchard soils and conditions, enabling precise nutrient management, emissions modeling, and regenerative practice optimization. Beewise autonomous bee homes provide climate-controlled, self-monitoring habitats that protect pollinators and strengthen colony health. Additionally, off-ground harvesting reduces dust and minimizes soil disturbance. Together, these innovations create a data-driven, climate-resilient model for almond production.
More information:
https://www.kindsnacks.com/almonds#philosophy
