Nichols Farms in Hanford, a fourth-generation family pistachio grower and processor, recently expanded its silo storage and processing equipment to prepare for higher yields in the coming years.
The move comes as much of the ag sector is in contraction, contending with reduced demand, trade barriers and other financial pressures. But Nichols is bullish on its pistachios, using the current “off year” cycle of the crop as a test run for their new storage capacity and anticipating higher crop yields by 2029.
Nichols Farms operates about 4,000 acres of pistachios.
Jeff Nichols, supply chain and grower relations vice president, said the pistachio industry experienced a record crop this season. There was a total of 1.57 billion pounds in total receipts for the 2025-16 harvest, translating to 1.34 billion pounds of marketable inventory that is up 4% from the previous season, according to the Administrative Committee for Pistachios.
Jeff Nichols said the recent increase in the popularity of Dubai chocolate — a style of rich chocolate in bars filled with pistachio-tahini cream and chopped filo pastry — demand for pistachios has soared.
“There are not enough pistachios right now to fulfill that demand around the world,” Jeff said. “It’s been a good year selling pistachios so far.”
Nichols Farms will have 11 of its products in Sprouts stores starting in early April, Jeff Nichols said.
The protein craze is also a positive factor, he added.
On again, off again
Since 2025 was an “on year” for pistachios, 2026 is anticipated to see a lighter crop. The Kerman pistachio variety, which makes a majority of what’s grown in California, is more susceptible to alternating growth seasons, said James Nichols, vice president of farming operations.
The Lost Hills variety, a relatively new female pistachio cultivar released by the University of California in 2005 that produces a higher percentage of edible nuts, is also less suspectable to alternate bearing seasons.
Golden Hills is another relatively new variety that produces higher yields and maintains a low percentage of loose shells and kernels.
“One of the big variables and why it’s hard to predict on what the market is going to do is because the newer varieties are much less susceptible to alternate bearing and are becoming a much higher percentage of the total volume we receive,” James Nichols said.
The impact of March heatwaves, which brought record breaking-temperatures to the Central Valley, remains to be seen, he added.
High heat can impact the viability of the pollen, especially during current pollination peak periods.
Pistachios only have a finite amount of stored carbohydrates, and when it gets warm in the wintertime, they have to use that energy to stay dormant and have less energy to produce the crop, Jeff Nichols said.
However, the chill has still been sufficient this year, James Nichols noted.
Silo expansion
There were about 520,000 bearing acres of pistachio in California in 2025 — and that number is expected to climb to 600,000 by 2027, Jeff Nichols said.
Planting activity has been increasing in the last 20 years, and especially in the last 10 years, and while younger trees are producing healthy amounts, they are not yet at their full potential, Jeff Nichols said.
By the time the trees hit their 10th year, they will be producing more on a per-acre basis.
However, plantings did slowdown in the last four years. Around 2018, there was an average of about 40,000 acres planted in the state annually, James Nichols said. That figure has currently dropped to about 5,000-10,000 acres planted more recently.
Water restrictions make it hard to predict how many of those acres will reach bearing years.
Nichols Farm’s silo and processing expansion will help with the processing of increased yields come 2029, Jeff Nichols said.
They are building a dedicated organic hulling line to focus on their organic products, without having to worry about sanitation issues with mixed conventional production.
Nichols Farms had 52 silos at the Hanford facility last year, and the expansion has increased their storage capacity by about 18%, James Nichols said.
“We have pistachios that are young and growing in age and will be producing more, and we are just ensuring that we have the processing capacity for our organic, internal growth between our existing growers,” Jeff Nichols said.
https://thebusinessjournal.com/hanford-grower-expands-capacity-amid-dubai-chocolate-driven-pistachio-boom/?mc_cid=046f9af3a4&mc_eid=74f21311a6
