Our organic almond milk gets its rich, delicious flavor from the heirloom variety nuts we source from farms that use regenerative practices. These farms are operated by a cooperative of small family farmers, and they use dry farming techniques (among other regenerative practices). So what's dry farming, and why does it matter?
Our current commercial farming methods have us on a collision course with environmental disaster. By the year 2030, half of the world's population will be experiencing water scarcity, displacing up to 700 million people.
In the United States, aquifers across the nation from Washington State to Texas are drying up, with some crucial water stores due to be depleted within the decade. With climate change bringing about a prolonged period of drought in North America, it's a very good time to be adapting to the increasingly arid future that's already on its way.
Dry farming isn't new. It was a mainstream method of food production for thousands of years in the American West. It's defined as "the cultivation of crops without irrigation in regions of limited moisture, typically less than 20" of precipitation annually."
It's a method practiced with at least a minimal rainy season, during which farmers collect moisture in their soil using a variety of techniques. This water is then used judiciously during the dry season to make it stretch until the next rains come. It's a way of working with nature to produce food in a manner that the land can sustain.
Dry farming is already practiced around the world. Right here in our home state of California, a wide variety of crops are successfully being dry farmed. This method does lower production yield, which is why there's been resistance to it in regions where it would be otherwise beneficial. But considering that humans use two thirds of the global water supply for agriculture and dry farming saves 16,000 gallons of water per acre each year, we may soon have no other choice but to adopt this method of food production where it suits the land.
We believe in doing the best that we can for the next generation. While the climate crisis is the greatest emergency humankind has ever seen, there are many ways we can support the solutions we already have access to. So why wait until things get worse before we start to make these changes? The time to change is now.
Support the brands that are genuinely doing the right thing for the planet. Do your research, and make the best choices that you can. The future depends on it.
