<p></p><p>RED BLUFF, Calif. — Four years of drought in California and a moderate price slide apparently haven’t halted a trend of increasing walnut acreage and nursery sales, at least yet.California’s estimated 360,000 overall acres in 2015 were up 12 percent from 2013 levels, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Sacramento. The Golden State’s 300,000 bearing acreage during the most recent harvest was up from 290,000 acres in 2014, continuing an annual climb from the 218,000 acres that bore nuts in 2008, the agency reported.Combined sales of walnut trees to California growers accounted for 18,021 acres during the last crop year, according to a separate NASS report. That’s up from 17,076 acres of new trees in 2014 and 15,720 acres of first-year plantings in 2013, NASS observed.“We’ve got a lot of nice, young orchards out there in the state,” said Red Bluff, Calif., grower Tyler Christensen, who in recent years has doubled the size of his walnut orchard.The growth comes even as farmers have had to manage orchards with limited water supplies in the past several years, getting by with such tools as drip irrigation and pressure chambers to determine a tree’s water need. NASS’ acreage report reflects the removal of about 7,000 acres of trees in the past two years, some of which were harvested in 2015 before being pulled out. <br></p> <p>One factor in the increasing walnut acreage is the plum orchards for prunes have been scaled back in recent years as a result of a loss of global market share, University of California advisers have said.Another factor has been that tree nuts are more lucrative than many field crops, enabling growers to afford water prices that have skyrocketed during the drought. Nurseries have reported back orders of two years or longer for walnut trees.NASS’ acreage report was based on a survey of about 4,900 walnut growers. Of the acreage reported, Chandler continued to be the leading variety with 104,450 bearing acres, followed by Hartley with 33,002 bearing acres. Chandler also accounted for 67 percent of the non-bearing acreage.Growers harvested a record 575,000-ton crop last season despite the drought and a lack of chilling hours in the previous winter, NASS estimated. Producers have been experiencing their first protracted price slide in years, as the average price per pound to the grower dropped from $2.05 in 2013 to an anticipated $1.20 for the most recent crop.The agency’s objective measurement report for the 2016 walnut crop, including an acreage estimate for this season, is due out Sept. 2.<br></p><p></p>