California’s bearing almond acreage had its smallest increase in more than 20 years in 2025, according to a new industry report from Land IQ.

Bearing almond orchards at harvest will cover 1.389 million acres, an increase of about 6,000 acres. That follows revised figures for 2024 that showed an increase of just 9,000 acres, then the lowest figure since 2004.

Land IQ is a research and consulting firm, and its new report, created for the Almond Board of California, was released April 24.

Land IQ also estimated that about 51,800 acres of orchards will be removed by the end of the crop year, adding to the nearly 67,000 acres pulled out during 2023-24.

Lower overall acreage

“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.

The industry continues to see shipments of more than 200 million pounds a month, she noted, in a news release.

“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,” Turner said.

Other almond reports

Land IQ’s 2025 Standing Acreage Initial Estimate released April 24 does not include total almond acreage. It only looked at bearing acreage — orchards planted before 2023 that have matured enough to produce a crop for the coming harvest.

The firm’s November final estimate will include data for total acreage and non-bearing acreage not mature enough to produce nuts for commercial consumption.

In 2024, the report showed that overall almond acreage dropped by about 40,000 acres to 1.52 million. It was the third straight year with a drop, which hasn’t happened since at least 1995, and the trend is likely to continue for years to come.

The first look at yield will come in May with a USDA subjective estimate, followed by a fuller picture of crop size from the agency in July.

Counties with the most acreage

Fresno County had the most bearing almond acres in California this year, with nearly 250,000. About 5,355 acres will be removed this crop year, however.

Other notable almond producing counties were:

• Stanislaus County, with 182,114 bearing acres and 3,578 acres removed.
• Kern County, with 177,327 bearing acres and a state-high 8,138 acres removed.
• Merced County, with 147,087 bearing acres and 3,607 acres removed.
• Madera County, with 144,939 bearing acres and 2,518 acres removed.
• San Joaquin County, with 102,874 bearing acres, 2,072 acres removed.