Cynthia Crézé (1), Jeffrey Mitchell (1), Andreas Westphal (2), Danielle Lightle (3), David Doll (3), Mohammad Yaghmour (3), Neal Williams (4), Amanda Hodson(4), Houston Wilson (5), Kent Daane (6), Brad Hanson (1), Steven Haring (1), Cameron Zuber (3) & Amélie Gaudin (1) Department of Plant Sciences, University of California – Davis Department of Nematology, University of California – Riverside University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources – Cooperative Extension Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California – Davis Department of Entomology, University of California – Riverside Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California – Berkeley Although cover cropping is compatible with almond production and is often implemented in other orchard systems, this practice has never been widely implemented in California. The potential benefits are recognized by growers, especially their value for pollinator forage and soil health but operational concerns, lack of cost-benefit analyses and unclear best management practices have hampered wide adoption. As cover cropping can provide significant sustainability benefits, there is an urgent need to assess and develop feasible and beneficial cover crop systems for California almond production. Here is some insight gathered by a research team assessing the impacts of multiple cover crop management strategies on: 1) soil health, 2) water use and dynamics, 3) bee visitation and pollination, 4) weed and pest pressure (NOW) and 5) almond yields in four orchards across the Central Valley precipitation gradient. Cover crop research trial in almond: Project website: https://almondcovercrop.faculty.ucdavis.edu Design: Three commercial orchards in Corning (Tehama county, 2nd leaf), Merced (Merced county, 16th leaf) and Arvin (Kern county, 16th leaf). One experimental station: Kearney (Fresno county). Two cover crops: Soil Mix (2 legumes, 2 brassicas & 1 grass), Pollinator Mix (5 brassicas, Project Apis M – https://www.projectapism.org/pam-mustard-mix.html) Compared to resident vegetation & to bare soil. Cover