California almond growers voted to continue their almond federal marketing order program for five more years.

Nearly 91% of growers, who represented more than 93% of volume, supported continuing the Almond Board of California.

Voting was conducted from Dec. 4 through Dec. 20.

An assessment of 3 cents per pound makes up the majority of the ABC budget.

The marketing order was established by the industry in 1950 to help growers and handlers work together to address industry changes and to drive global demand and marketing success.

The USDA conducts a continuance referendum every five years for the ABC.

The board’s initiatives have strengthened key areas such as domestic and international marketing, nutrition research, data collection, production research, environmental stewardship and food safety and quality.

Almonds are California’s No. 1 crop by acreage, No. 1 agricultural export, No. 5 crop by value and the No. 1 specialty crop export in the U.S.

About federal marketing orders

Federal marketing orders were authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

The industry-driven programs help producers and handlers by leveraging their own funds to design and execute strategies they wouldn’t be able to tackle individually.

The USDA provides oversight to help ensure financial accountability and program integrity.