MODESTO, Calif. – California’s bearing almond acreage increased by a small amount in 2025, according to a new report from Land IQ to the Almond Board of California (ABC).
The Initial Estimate said bearing almond orchards at harvest will cover 1.389 million acres across California, a small increase of about 6,000 acres. That follows an increase in 2024 of just 9,000 acres, then the smallest growth in two decades.
In addition, Land IQ estimates that approximately 51,805 acres of orchards will be removed by the end of the crop year, adding to the nearly 67,000 acres removed in the 2023-24 crop year, according to the November 2024 Land IQ estimate.
“Despite a slight increase in bearing acreage, we’ve seen significant orchard removals and drops in non-bearing and overall acreage the past three years, signaling a trend toward lower overall California almond acreage,” said Clarice Turner, ABC president and CEO. “At the same time, we continue to see strong shipments of more than 200 million pounds a month. It’s clear that demand for California almonds continues to grow across the globe as California almond farmers work hard to supply the world. We have no doubt that almonds will continue to have a very significant role in California and global agriculture for the foreseeable future.”
Land IQ’s 2025 Standing Acreage Initial Estimate issued Thursday does not include total almond acreage. It looked at bearing acreage – orchards planted before 2023 that have matured enough to produce a crop for the coming 2025 harvest. Land IQ’s report on total acreage and non-bearing acres – newer plantings not mature enough to produce almonds for commercial consumption – will come out in November.
The Land IQ report is a snapshot of the coming 2025 harvest but does not offer an estimate on the actual almond yield this 2025-26 crop year. The first look at yield will be on May 12 with USDA-NASS’ Subjective Estimate, and a fuller picture of crop size will come with USDA-NASS’ Objective Report in July.
April’s Land IQ estimate covers bearing acreage and removals from Sept. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2025. The almond crop year runs from Aug. 1 to July 31, so this estimate includes the harvest for the 2025-26 crop year. Land IQ’s Initial Estimate and its Final Acreage Estimate in November are commissioned by ABC to provide statistical transparency and a robust picture of California almonds to industry stakeholders around the world. In 2018, ABC first commissioned Land IQ, a Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental scientific research and consulting firm, to develop a comprehensive, living map of California almonds, with the first report issued in 2019. The map is the result of more than a decade of research.
For more information:
Taylor Hillman
Sr. Specialist, Industry Relations
Almond Board of California
thillman@almondboard.com
(559) 930-0344
