Pistachios Becoming Major Crop in California
2024-11-14
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1In a large plant in the heart of California's farmland, millions of pistachios are inspected, prepared and shipped off around the world.
2Pistachios, a kind of nut, have been around for over 3,000 years.
3First planted in central Asia, pistachios arrived in California in the 1850s along with thousands of people during the Gold Rush.
4Since pistachios require little water, farmers have been using more land for the crops in California.
5Pistachios brought in nearly $3 billion last year in the state.
6And, in the past ten years, the United States has gone beyond Iran to become the world's top exporter of the nut.
7"There has been an explosion over the last 10 or 15 years of plantings, and those trees are coming online," said Zachary Fraser.
8He is president and chief executive of American Pistachio Growers, an organization that represents more than 800 farmers in the southwestern U.S.
9"You are starting to see the fruit of people's vision from 40 years ago."
10California agricultural data shows that the state grows more than a third of vegetables and three-fourths of fruits and nuts in the U.S.
11Pistachios have increased over the past ten years to become California's sixth-biggest agricultural product.
12The nuts have increased in value ahead of longtime crops such as strawberries and tomatoes, the data shows.
13Much of the pistachio crop is headed to China, where it is a popular treat during Lunar New Year.
14But industry experts said Americans are also eating more pistachios.
15The nuts were rarely seen in food stores a generation ago and today are found almost everywhere.
16Pistachios are sold with or without shells.
17Their flavors range from salt and pepper to honey-roasted.
18The Wonderful Co., a $6 billion agricultural company, is the biggest name in pistachios.
19The company has grown pistachios since the 1980s.
20But it increased production in 2015 after developing a rootstock that produces as much as 40 percent more nuts with the same soil and water, said Rob Yraceburu, president of Wonderful Orchards.
21Now, Wonderful grows between 15 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. pistachio crop, he said.
22"There is an increasingly growing demand in pistachios," Yraceburu said.
23"The world wants more."
24Pistachios are set to weather California's dry times better than the state's even bigger nut crop, almonds.
25Almonds produced nearly $4 billion in the state last year, industry experts said.
26Pistachio orchards can survive with minimal water during drought, unlike almonds and other more sensitive crops.
27The trees also use wind instead of bees for pollination and can produce nuts for many years longer, Yraceburu said.
28Many California farmers who grow pistachios and almonds are using lessons learned from almond farming.
29Almond production, which is much bigger than pistachio, also increased quickly in California.
30But prices fell amid a large amount of post-pandemic supply.
31At the same time, farmers faced a time of too little water and rising input costs.
32As a result, some farmers did not replant aging orchards when it came time to take them out.
33Pistachio growers say they hope to avoid a similar outcome and are working to keep demand for the nut ahead of supply.
34For example, American Pistachio Growers recently signed a deal with a top cricket player in India hoping to help promote pistachios there, Fraser said.
35The rise of pistachios is part of California farmers' move into perennial crops, commanding higher returns than products such as cotton.
36Perennial crops, which are not replanted every year, cannot just be changed out during dry years.
37As a result, they can be difficult during long periods with too little water, said Brad Franklin of the Public Policy Institute of California.
38But pistachios have benefits that other perennial crops do not have.
39They can go longer without water and grow in salty soils.
40That may make them appealing to California farmers who are facing limits on how much groundwater they can use under a new state law, he said.
41I'm John Russell.
1In a large plant in the heart of California's farmland, millions of pistachios are inspected, prepared and shipped off around the world. 2Pistachios, a kind of nut, have been around for over 3,000 years. First planted in central Asia, pistachios arrived in California in the 1850s along with thousands of people during the Gold Rush. 3Since pistachios require little water, farmers have been using more land for the crops in California. Pistachios brought in nearly $3 billion last year in the state. And, in the past ten years, the United States has gone beyond Iran to become the world's top exporter of the nut. 4"There has been an explosion over the last 10 or 15 years of plantings, and those trees are coming online," said Zachary Fraser. He is president and chief executive of American Pistachio Growers, an organization that represents more than 800 farmers in the southwestern U.S. "You are starting to see the fruit of people's vision from 40 years ago." 5California agricultural data shows that the state grows more than a third of vegetables and three-fourths of fruits and nuts in the U.S. 6Pistachios have increased over the past ten years to become California's sixth-biggest agricultural product. The nuts have increased in value ahead of longtime crops such as strawberries and tomatoes, the data shows. 7Much of the pistachio crop is headed to China, where it is a popular treat during Lunar New Year. But industry experts said Americans are also eating more pistachios. 8The nuts were rarely seen in food stores a generation ago and today are found almost everywhere. 9Pistachios are sold with or without shells. Their flavors range from salt and pepper to honey-roasted. 10The Wonderful Co., a $6 billion agricultural company, is the biggest name in pistachios. The company has grown pistachios since the 1980s. But it increased production in 2015 after developing a rootstock that produces as much as 40 percent more nuts with the same soil and water, said Rob Yraceburu, president of Wonderful Orchards. 11Now, Wonderful grows between 15 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. pistachio crop, he said. 12"There is an increasingly growing demand in pistachios," Yraceburu said. "The world wants more." 13Pistachios weather dry times better 14Pistachios are set to weather California's dry times better than the state's even bigger nut crop, almonds. 15Almonds produced nearly $4 billion in the state last year, industry experts said. 16Pistachio orchards can survive with minimal water during drought, unlike almonds and other more sensitive crops. The trees also use wind instead of bees for pollination and can produce nuts for many years longer, Yraceburu said. 17Many California farmers who grow pistachios and almonds are using lessons learned from almond farming. Almond production, which is much bigger than pistachio, also increased quickly in California. But prices fell amid a large amount of post-pandemic supply. At the same time, farmers faced a time of too little water and rising input costs. 18As a result, some farmers did not replant aging orchards when it came time to take them out. 19Pistachio growers say they hope to avoid a similar outcome and are working to keep demand for the nut ahead of supply. For example, American Pistachio Growers recently signed a deal with a top cricket player in India hoping to help promote pistachios there, Fraser said. 20The rise of pistachios is part of California farmers' move into perennial crops, commanding higher returns than products such as cotton. Perennial crops, which are not replanted every year, cannot just be changed out during dry years. As a result, they can be difficult during long periods with too little water, said Brad Franklin of the Public Policy Institute of California. 21But pistachios have benefits that other perennial crops do not have. They can go longer without water and grow in salty soils. That may make them appealing to California farmers who are facing limits on how much groundwater they can use under a new state law, he said. 22I'm John Russell. 23Amy Taxin reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 24_______________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26drought - n. a period of dryness (especially one that causes extensive damage to crops) 27pollination - n. the act of giving (a plant) pollen from another plant of the same kind so that seeds will be produced 28rootstock - n. an underground part of a plant 29cricket - n. a game played on a large field by two teams of 11 players. The players try to score runs by hitting a small ball and then running between sets of wooden sticks 30benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect