Despite a rough year for cherry and walnut growers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture delivered some good news about California almonds, San Joaquin County’s third largest farm product.
The USDA forecasts a 3% increase in almond production statewide this year compared to 2024. If it comes to pass, it would mark the third consecutive year of increases. The uptick comes amid favorable weather for growing the tasty nuts and an expansion of almond orchards.
“This larger crop estimate is what the industry expected after a solid water winter and generally good weather during bloom, but it’s also a testament to the hard work done by almond farmers throughout California,” Clarice Turner, president and CEO of the Almond Board of California, said in a statement.
Growing and harvesting almonds — like all farm products — requires not only a lot of work, but ample water as well. Luckily, “water is not expected to be an issue this year,” according to the report.
The USDA expects almond production at 2.8 billion pounds, compared to 2.73 billion last year. Although growers have added about 10,000 more acres of almond trees, the expected increase in production is entirely because of the larger orchards. The report says the average acre yielded 2,010 pounds of nuts, an increase of 30 pounds over last year.
Almond trees bloomed in February in the Sacramento Valley, giving growers a good indication of what kind of crops they could expect.
San Joaquin Valley growers got off to a poor start in the season because of cool temperatures and “lower bee flight hours,” according the the USDA report. “However, conditions improved in early March with warm temperatures accelerating the crop’s progress through the end of bloom.”
The weather was not as kind to another valuable San Joaquin County crop.
James Chinchiolo, first vice president of the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau Federation, said the season’s cherry harvest could be half of what would be seen in a banner year.
The San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner in its most recent annual crop report listed cherries as the county’s fourth most valuable farm product, with a value of $273.4 million in 2023. They take a back seat only to milk, grapes and almonds.
The almond crop was valued at $343.6 million in 2023, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
In addition to almonds’ popularity in the U.S., the nuts are also a popular export product.
“Demand for California almonds around the globe continues to grow and our almond farmers constantly deliver, producing high quality California almonds to meet that demand,” Turner said.
