Follow The Chief: California Orchards Blossom with NRCS Help Managing Pests

California's Central Valley is a land of agricultural abundance, known for its incredible diversity of crops including fruits, vegetables and nuts. It produces approximately 25% of the nation's food.

But with plenty can come pests - in as many varieties and types as the crops grown in the region. Area farmers have worked with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to implement integrated pest management into their orchard operations with marked results.

Sandra and Mike Smith of Smith Family Farm in Fresno, California, showed NRCS Chief Aubrey Bettencourt the benefits of the practices that they have incorporated with NRCS assistance as they toured their 36-acre almond orchard.

Established in 1903, the farm is on the cusp of welcoming its fifth generation of farmers. By adapting their operations to increase conservation and sustainability practices, the Smiths hope to pass on a rich legacy to their young granddaughters.

The Smiths highlighted the impact that integrated pest management practices - notably hormone disruptors - have had in their fight to combat navel orangeworms in their almond orchards.

"We were at 17.1% loss of our almond crop two years ago because of the infestation of navel orangeworms," Mike Smith told Chief Bettencourt. "Once we implemented the mating disrupters, we were able to bring our almond reject numbers down to 1.1%."

Navel orangeworms burrow into almond nuts to feed on the kernel, damaging the nut and impacting producers' overall yield and harvest quality. Deploying pheromone-based mating disruption tools can reduce navel orangeworm populations by hindering male moths' ability to locate females.

The Smiths have also leaned on NRCS technical assistance to implement other conservation techniques to increase the health of their orchard. The family now prioritizes composting and increasing organic matter, guided by the knowledge gained through NRCS collaboration.

Further north, Chinchiolo Farming Co., Inc., a family-run business located in Lodi, California, is managing orchards of a different kind while embracing similar production practices.

Producer James Patrick Chinchiolo has worked to uphold a century-old farming legacy, started by great grandfather Italian immigrant James Joseph Chinchiolo. Chinchiolo has worked with NRCS to incorporate a number of conservation practices including cover crops, tractor replacements, orchard removal and soil incorporation.

Like the Smiths, Chinchiolo has dealt with pest issues, incorporating a Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) approach in managing his orchards. The BIOS system aligns with NRCS principles, embracing the implementation of conservation practices like cover cropping, beneficial insect habitat, and compost application to keep pests at bay.

"We aim to foster a more ecologically balanced environment within our orchards," Chinchiolo said during his discussion with Chief Bettencourt. "We are focusing on minimizing our inputs and creating more habitat for beneficial insects to flourish to help control unwanted pests."

Conservation practices like cover cropping and compost application not only help pollinators flourish - a crucial part of growing beautiful cherries - they also protect the trees' overall health, improving soil structure and water retention.

After last summer's heat impacted this year's cherry crop, Chinchiolo is working to take additional measures to make his trees more heat resistant in preparation for next season.

"Growing cherries is never predictable. But it's always beautiful." Chinchiolo said.

Helping People Help the Land

During her visit, Chief Bettencourt emphasized that the agency's primary focus is to give producers the tools that they need to be the best producers that they can be - increasing their yield while stewarding the nation's natural resources.

"Producers are the solution, and we want to empower them by getting our highly skilled staff out in the field to provide technical support. We want to streamline our programs to work better and faster for producers," she said.

NRCS helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners make critical investments in their operations and local communities by helping them implement proven practices to ensure all of America's farms, ranches and private lands are economically viable and thriving.

If you are interested learning how these programs can help you achieve your operational and land management goals, find your local USDA Service Center and get started today.

Follow the Chief through our blog series https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news?title=follow+the+chief as she meets with producers across the country to learn how NRCS has helped their operations.