Two new acreage reports have recently been released to provide a clearer accounting of the almond industry in California. The 2021 California Almond Acreage Report is compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The 2022 Standing Acreage Initial Estimate is put together by Land IQ. Principal Analyst for the Almond Board of California (ABC), Jesse Roseman explained that almond acreage increased, but at a slower pace than in previous years.
“Looking at the NASS report, which is our official numbers, the 2021 total almond acreage is estimated at 1.64 million acres. This was up 2.5 percent from 2020. Their estimate of non-bearing acres is 320,000 and that was a total down 8.6 percent from 2020,” said Roseman. “Turning to the Land IQ report, they’re estimating around 1.33 million acres of bearing almonds. They also look at how many almonds they think will be removed up until this coming harvest and they’re looking at around 59,000 acres.”
Bearing acreage for the 2020-21 crop year was estimated at 1.32 million, according to the NASS report. The figure represents a 5.6 percent increase from the year prior. The Land IQ estimate for orchard removal is nearly 12,000 acres more than last year, while the estimate of bearing acreage increased by 29,000 acres. The acreage reports have been issued side by side by ABC to offer a more well-rounded picture of California almond acreage.
“Together these estimates both show that California almond production remains strong, but overall growth in acreage looks to be slowing,” Roseman noted. “They both use different methodologies. Land IQ’s is based on satellite remote sensing and ground-truthing, while NASS is based on grower surveys. Although they do take some input from the Land IQ remotely sensed data.”
Neither report provides any yield projection for the current crop. The Subjective Estimate from NASS is expected next week, followed by an Objective Report to be released in July.
Listen to Roseman’s interview below.
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