<p>California almond farmers could shake a record 2.25 billion pounds of nuts from their trees late this summer if U.S. Department of Agriculture figures hold out.This would be more than 5 percent above 2016 receipts of 2.134 billion pounds and 2.3 percent better than the subjective estimate of 2.2 billion pounds issued in May.The latest objective estimate of almonds from the National Agricultural Statistics Survey (NASS) comes via its annual survey which this year looked at trees in 852 orchards spanning one million bearing acres from Red Bluff to Bakersfield.</p> <p>Average nut set is estimated lower at 7.2 percent from last year at just over 5,700 almonds per tree. Nonpareil variety nut set is up about 2.4 percent over the previous year at nearly the same number of almonds per tree, numbers that surprised some.Michael Kelley, president and chief executive officer of the Central California Almond Growers Association, says the huller and sheller cooperative budgeted this year for 111 million pounds of throughput, a figure that will be about six million pounds short of the NASS estimates, if growers in his area produce the amount the almond forecast suggests.</p> <p>The 2017 California Almond Objective Measurement Report is available online at http://tinyurl.com/y8kj6qgw.</p>