Part 10 of 10 in a series on the almond and pistachio sectors in California. Download a complete report here and explore the underlying data in a standalone application here . In previous pieces in this series, we documented the scale of California's almond removal wave , which has seen ~450,000 acres (~182k ha) removed between 2014 and 2024, and the shift in planting patterns. Putting the two together orchard by orchard adds a powerful additional perspective to the subject,

The data shows that inside-district almond orchards are being removed at a higher rate than outside-district orchards. The relationship between surface water access and orchard survival is more complex than the standard narrative suggests.

Pistachio removals in California is significantly smaller compared to almonds. The crop remains net-positive, but with one stand-out finding.

California almond acreage is shrinking. In 2023 and 2024, roughly 118k (~47k ha) more acres were removed than planted. Removals equalled ~10% of the bearing base.

In 2020 roughly 30% of all almond acres planted were outside irrigation districts, compared to a long-run average of about 22%. Pistachio planting in 2020 outside-district share was 19%, close to the historical norm.

California's almond and pistachio sectors are planting fewer acres than at any point in the modern era.