Yara North America, Inc., together with Heliae® Agriculture, has launched the BetterSoil Alliance to help California almond producers in the pursuit of sustainable farming practices to improve water productivity and soil health, while decreasing their carbon footprint.

Almond growers and advisors are invited to participate in implementing the solutions through customized crop and soil nutrition programs that will be developed by mid-November. Participants will be eligible to receive a sustainability reward based on water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), as well as recognition in the Alliance. Data collected from participating growers’ orchards will be used to better understand the positive impact the solutions implemented in the program can have. Yara North America, Inc. and Heliae® Agriculture will help fund a portion of the sustainability rewards, however to acknowledge as many growers as possible, the companies are calling on the industry to participate through pledges to help fund the sustainability awards.

Participating growers and advisors will have access to the agronomic expertise of Yara North America, Inc. and Heliae® Agriculture and support in implementing crop nutrition and soil management solutions such as YaraLiva® Calcium Nitrate; produced in Norway and featuring a very low carbon footprint, and PhycoTerra® a superior, nature-based soil microbial food, specifically produced to feed the dormant microbes-including fungi and bacteria. The products are designed to drive almond yield and quality while improving soil health and structure. Moreover, independent third-party trials show a measurable improvement in water productivity (crop per drop) when YaraLiva® Calcium Nitrate and PhycoTerra® products are used together.