… The mild spring appeared to bolster almond yields statewide. The USDA’s 2025 California almond production forecast has risen to 3 billion meat pounds, up 7% from May’s subjective forecast and 10% higher than last year’s crop of 2.73 billion meat pounds. The forecast is based on 1.39 million bearing acres, explains the National Agricultural Statistics Service office in Sacramento. … A 3-billion-pound crop would be California’s second largest in history. … The heavy load is despite storms that began in early February and peaked in the middle of the month. Rain, wind and hail hindered bee hours and blossom growth, but conditions improved in early March with warm temperatures accelerating the crop’s progress through the end of bloom. Mild temperatures and timely rain in spring supported nut growth and continued through early summer, lessening heat stress in orchards, NASS reports. 

Other agriculture news:

• FarmProgress: Nut, prune orchards rebound after early-season flooding