Almond photo by Marcia Cripps via unsplash.com.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised its outlook for this year’s almond harvest, with data suggesting a decline from record production over the past two years.

This year, the USDA forecasts almond production at 2.6 billion pounds in California, down 7% from their May outlook based on grower surveys. This represents a 11% drop from last year’s 2.92 billion pounds.

If production in 2022 matches expectations, even with the drop it will still exceed that of 2019, in which growers produced 1.16 billion pounds.

Bearing acreage continues to grow as well, estimated to hit 1.37 million acres, up from 1.32 million acres in 2021. The pounds of almonds produced per acre is expected to drop to 1,900, down from 2,210.

The USDA reports that the February almond bloom was aided by favorable weather for pollination. Warm temperatures meant a shorter bloom period that in recent years, though some areas were hit by a freeze in the last week in February.

Harvest is expected to begin in August.