Thinking about pulling almonds to plant pistachios? Read this first.

If you farm almonds in the Central Valley, you've felt the squeeze the last few years. Prices spent a long stretch in the basement, water keeps getting more expensive and harder to count on, and the math on a lot of older blocks just doesn't pencil the way it used to. So it's no surprise that more growers we talk to are asking the same question: should I pull these almonds and put in pistachios?

I can't make that call for you — and you shouldn't make it on the word of a removal contractor anyway. But we've taken out a lot of almond ground and turned it around for replanting, and we've watched which transitions go smooth and which ones turn into a headache. So here's how I'd think it through.

Why so many growers are looking at pistachios

For the first time on record, California almond acreage actually went down. Growers aren't planting new almond ground the way they were a decade ago, and a lot of them are diversifying into pistachios instead. The reasons are pretty simple when you lay them out.

Pistachios hold up better on the kind of ground and water a lot of us are farming now. They handle salt and drought better than almonds do, which matters a great deal when your water's tight and your soil isn't perfect. Over the long haul, pistachio returns per acre have run ahead of almonds. And under SGMA, with groundwater getting capped and metered, a crop that does more with less water is worth a hard look.

That said, this isn't a free lunch, and anybody telling you pistachios are a sure thing is selling something.

Go in with your eyes open

A few things to weigh before you pull the trigger — these are the things growers tell me they wish they'd thought harder about:

• Pistachios are a long wait They take roughly five to six years to produce and around ten to break even. Full production is even further out. You're planting for the grower you'll be in a decade, not next season's cash flow.
• More acreage is coming A lot of pistachio ground has gone in across the Valley and a lot more is still coming into bearing. Strong prices today don't guarantee strong prices when your trees finally produce. Talk to your buyer about where they see demand going.
• Your ground has to suit it Soil type, drainage, and water access all matter. Pistachios are tough, but "tough" isn't "plant them anywhere." Your farm advisor or PCA can tell you straight whether your block is a good candidate.
• The replant matters as much as the removal How the old orchard comes out — and what shape the ground is in when it's done — sets up everything that follows.

Getting the ground ready the right way

Here's where we come in. Once you've decided to make the switch, the removal isn't just "knock the trees down and haul them off." If you're replanting — and especially if you're going from one nut crop to another — what happens to the old orchard directly affects how your pistachios get started.

A few things we pay close attention to on an almond-to-pistachio job:

1. Pull trees clean and get the roots out Buried wood left to rot causes settling, voids, and disease pressure right where your new pistachio roots are trying to establish. We use Caterpillar excavators to pull full root systems, not just cut stumps at grade.
2. Remove irrigation and drip infrastructure All drip hose, fittings, and main lines come out before grinding so material moves clean and nothing gets buried in the chips.
3. Grind and reincorporate the material We grind with Tigercat equipment and, in most cases, spread the chips back and work them into the soil. This builds organic matter your new pistachios will benefit from — and it's what the Air District's grant program is built to fund now that burning is off the table.
4. Deep rip and prep the ground We rip and finish the field so it's ready to lay out your new orchard on your timeline, not ours. When we leave, the ground should be ready for pistachios — not a cleanup project.

One more thing on the wood

You can't burn an almond removal in the Valley anymore — open burning of orchard removals has been prohibited since the start of 2025. The upside is that grinding and reincorporating is genuinely better for the soil your new pistachios will grow in, and there's grant money to help cover it. We walk every client through how that program works.