Preliminary estimates of the total walnut acreage in 2011 are up over the past several years. Estimates for 2011's bearing and non-bearing acreage are higher than the totals for bearing and non-bearing acreage in 2009.Total California walnut acreage was pegged at 280,000 by a recent report from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. That figure is 10 percent higher than the total acreage in 2009, the last year total acreage figures were available. Non-bearing acreage for 2011 is projected to be 35,000 while 2009's non-bearing total was 28,000 acres.
The bearing acreage estimate for 2011 is 245,000, which is higher than 2010's total of 237,000 acres and 2009's total of 227,000 acres.
Most of the state's acreage is concentrated in the San Joaquin Valley, which accounts for 14 percent of the state's total. The most prevalent variety is the Chandler with 79,022 bearing acres, which is followed by the Hartley with 36,535 acres.