Walnut Harvest 2020 Underway
The California Agricultural Statistics Service (CASS) has issued their Objective Forecast for the 2020 California walnut crop: 780,000 tons.
This is significantly higher than last year’s 650,000 tons. Initially, there was skepticism from most handlers about this number, but we’re about halfway through the harvest now and there is no reason to disbelieve the validity of the number. Since the Chandler variety now represents more than 60% of the overall tonnage, the size of the Chandler crop will determine the overall outcome. CASS had forecast a 7.9% increase for this variety. Early indications are that that forecast may be on the low side. We will report more on this in a few weeks when the harvest is completed.