Sacramento Valley Rises as Pistachio Production Region
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
A shift has taken place with the state's pistachio plantings: New acreage has been popping up in the Sacramento Valley counties of Yolo, Sacramento, Solano and Colusa—hundreds of miles north of the main growing area in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Pistachios have thrived in the San Joaquin Valley due to the region's fertile soil, hot, dry climate and moderately cold winters. About 80% of the state's production comes from Kern, Fresno and Tulare counties.
But in Yolo County, pistachios have emerged as a top-10 crop, with a value of $19.4 million last year. The county had 10,800 acres of pistachio orchards in 2019, about 6,290 of which were bearing.
"I wouldn't say pistachios are new; they've been here for a while," Yolo County Interim Agricultural Commissioner Dave Guerrero said. "Over the last five to seven years, if you drive through the county, you can see that pistachio acreage continues to increase."
This article was published in the California Farm Bureau's Ag Alert publication. Click here to view the entire article.
