Almond Acreage Up In 2010

By Growing Produce Staff|May 3, 2011

California’s 2010 almond acreage is estimated at 825,000 acres, up 2% from the 2009 acreage of 810,000, according to information from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Of the total acreage for 2010, 740,000 acres were bearing and 85,000 acres were non-bearing.

Preliminary bearing acreage for 2011 is estimated at 750,000 acres. Nonpareil continued to be the leading variety, followed by Butte, Carmel, and Monterey. Padre and Aldrich varieties showed significant acreage increases. Kern, Fresno, Merced, and Stanislaus were the leading counties. These four counties had 64% of the total bearing acreage, unchanged from the previous year.

The major source of the almond detailed data was a questionnaire mailed to all almond growers included on the NASS database. The mailing was made in early October 2010. The questionnaire contained previously reported crop, variety, and acreage information preprinted. Producers were asked to update the information with new plantings, removals, and any other corrections; new growers were mailed a blank questionnaire. Growers were given six weeks to respond by mail. Telephone and field follow-up was then undertaken.

Data collection ended in April 2011. To arrive at the estimated almond acreage, the NASS almond acreage database was compared with pesticide application data maintained by county agricultural commissioners and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.