Almond Pollination Statistics

The crop

California almond acreage, crop size and value

Almonds bloom before most other crops and need cross-pollination for most varieties, so acreage drives bee demand. Acreage has started to shrink.

1. Bearing almond acreage in California was estimated at 1,385,870 acres for 2026, down from 1,401,097 acres in 2025. (Source: Almond Board of California, Land IQ initial estimate, 2026)
2. Total standing almond acreage in California was 1,505,997 acres in 2025, down from 1,525,638 acres in 2024. (Source: Almond Board of California, Land IQ standing acreage survey, 2025)
3. About 49,197 acres of almond orchards were removed in 2025, and nonbearing (young) acreage fell to 104,900 acres from 142,306 a year earlier. (Source: Almond Board of California, Land IQ standing acreage survey, 2025)
4. USDA forecast the 2026 California almond crop at 2.7 billion pounds, down 1% from 2025, with a yield of 1,940 pounds per acre. (Source: USDA NASS subjective forecast, reported by the Almond Board of California, May 2026)
5. USDA's objective measurement forecast put the 2025 crop at 3.00 billion meat pounds, up 10% from 2.73 billion pounds in 2024, at 2,160 pounds per acre. (Source: USDA NASS, 2025 California Almond Objective Measurement Report)
6. The 2025 objective survey counted an average of 4,364 nuts per tree, up 7% from 2024, and forecast the Nonpareil variety at 1.20 billion pounds. (Source: USDA NASS, 2025 California Almond Objective Measurement Report)
7. Almonds were California's second most valuable farm commodity in 2024 at $5.7 billion, out of $61.2 billion in total state farm value. (Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture, 2025)

Trade press (FreshPlaza, August 2026) reported that 2026 is the first year without USDA's July objective measurement forecast, after the Almond Board voted to stop funding it, leaving the May subjective forecast as the only official 2026 estimate. NASS's own California acreage reports end in 2023; recent acreage comes from Land IQ surveys for the Almond Board.

Bees per acre

How many bees pollinate almonds

The standard planning number is two hives per acre for traditional varieties. University of California advisors give a range, because weather and colony strength matter as much as hive count.

1. The Almond Board of California recommends 2 hives per acre for orchards of non-self-compatible varieties and 0.5 to 1 hive per acre for self-compatible varieties, depending on local conditions. (Source: Almond Board of California, Almond Living, updated 2026)
2. The current UC general recommendation is 1 to 3 strong hives per acre; fewer than two may be enough in a long stretch of good bloom weather, as in 2020. (Source: UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source, 2021)
3. In poor weather, orchards with 3 hives per acre reached 24% nut set, compared with 14.8% at 1.7 hives per acre. (Source: UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source, 2017)
4. Crop insurance language cited by UC Davis requires a minimum of two six-frame colonies per acre, or an equivalent such as 1.5 eight-frame colonies. (Source: UC Davis Cooperative Extension presentation, Goodrich)
5. USDA counted 1,630,000 colonies used on 1,035,800 paid pollinated almond acres in Arizona, California and Hawaii in 2025, down from 1,800,000 colonies in 2024. (Source: USDA NASS, Cost of Pollination, 2026)
6. University of Illinois economists estimated that the 2024 bloom needed about 2.7 million colonies for roughly 1.4 million acres, and expected 2.8 million for 2025. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
7. California almond orchards need more than a million honey bee colonies every season, according to UC Davis entomologists. (Source: UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, news release)

The two colony totals measure different things. NASS counts only paid colonies, as reported in a survey of farms growing the crop, on paid pollinated acres (about 1.04 million acres in 2025). The farmdoc daily figure is a demand estimate: 2 colonies per acre on traditional varieties and 1 on self-fertile varieties across all bearing acres.

The migration

Share of U.S. honey bee colonies moved to California

California does not have enough bees of its own for the bloom. Colonies arrive from across the country in January and leave after petal fall.

1. Estimated almond demand in February 2024 equaled about 99% of U.S. honey bee colonies counted on January 1, 2024. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
2. On January 1, 2024, 37% of U.S. colonies were in California; by July 1 each year, California's share drops to about 20%. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
3. USDA counted 2.81 million U.S. colonies on January 1, 2026, and 885,000 colonies in California on that date. (Source: USDA NASS, Honey Bee Colonies, August 2026)
4. California's maximum colony count during January through March 2026 was 1,250,000, compared with 1,260,000 in the same quarter of 2025. (Source: USDA NASS, Honey Bee Colonies, August 2026)
5. In 2019, economists estimated that 1.1 million bearing acres needed about 76% of U.S. honey bee colonies, and that 1.4 million acres would need about 97%, measured against the 2.9 million hives in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. (Source: Champetier, Lee and Sumner, Choices, 2019)
6. Beekeepers in the Mountain region consistently ship more than 500,000 colonies a year to California, and the North Central region ships about 140,000 to 150,000 a year. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
7. Colonies used for almond pollination rose 27%, or about 400,000 colonies, from 2017 to 2022. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
8. About 1.86 million colonies came for the 2019 almond bloom; Idaho sent the most, at 360,127. (Source: UC Davis Cooperative Extension presentation, Goodrich)

NASS colony counts cover operations with five or more colonies. A January 1 count is taken before many hives arrive, so California's January 1 figure understates the number in orchards at bloom.

Rental fees

Almond pollination fee per colony, 2015 to 2025

Almond growers pay far more per hive than growers of any other crop. USDA's Cost of Pollination survey is the main public record of those fees.

1. The average almond pollination fee in USDA Regions 6 and 7 (Arizona, California, Hawaii) was $209 per colony in 2025, up from $181 in 2024. (Source: USDA NASS, Cost of Pollination, 2026)
2. Almond pollination in Regions 6 and 7 was worth $340.67 million in 2025, at $310 per paid pollinated acre. (Source: USDA NASS, Cost of Pollination, 2026)
3. The almond fee was $165 per colony in 2015, $167 in 2016 and $171 in 2017. (Source: USDA NASS, Cost of Pollination, 2016 and 2017)
4. The almond fee was $194 per colony in 2022 and $188 in 2023. (Source: USDA NASS, Cost of Pollination, 2023)
5. In 2024, the average almond fee was about $181 per colony, compared with $66 per colony for all other crops. (Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Chart of Note, 2025)
6. Almond pollination generated $325.8 million in 2024, about 81% of all U.S. pollination service receipts. (Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Chart of Note, 2025)
7. In 2015, fees averaged $165.20 per colony with no strength requirement and $179.40 for colonies with more than 8 frames of bees. (Source: UC Davis Cooperative Extension presentation, Goodrich)
8. A Washington Post report, quoted on UC ANR's Bug Squad blog, said almond hive rental fees rose from $130 per hive at the start of the 2010 season to $200 in 2016. (Source: The Washington Post, quoted on UC ANR Bug Squad blog, 2016)

NASS suspended the Cost of Pollination report in December 2018, citing limited resources, so there are no NASS fees for 2018 through 2021. NASS combines Arizona, California and Hawaii, and its fee excludes colonies a grower owns or gets without payment. Other figures, such as the $200 2016 rental fee a Washington Post report gave (quoted on UC ANR's Bug Squad blog) and a $195 fee in a UC Davis Cooperative Extension presentation, come from different sources and run higher than the NASS average.

Bloom timing

When almonds bloom and how strong colonies must be

Almonds bloom in late winter, when days are short and weather is unreliable. Growers pay for strength, measured in frames of bees.

1. California almond trees bloom between February and March each year. (Source: Almond Board of California)
2. The almond bloom lasts 3 to 4 weeks. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
3. UC IPM says bloom-stage orchard activities generally fall between early February and late April, depending on region, variety and weather. (Source: UC IPM, Almond Pest Management Guidelines)
4. UC advisors define a strong hive as at least 8 frames covered with bees, an actively laying queen and one to two frames of brood. (Source: UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source, 2021)
5. A UC Davis colony strength standard lists 6 to 8 frames, with each frame at least 75% covered, or 4 bees per square inch. (Source: UC Davis Cooperative Extension presentation, Goodrich)
6. A UCCE farm advisor recommended colonies of 6 to 12 frames of bees, noting that colonies larger than about 12 frames do not seem to forage more. (Source: UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source, 2017)
7. Good bee flying weather is at least 59 degrees F, no rain and wind under 10 mph. (Source: UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source, 2021)
8. UC advisors say hives should be removed once 90% of the flowers on the last pollinizer variety have shed their pollen. (Source: UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source, 2021)
9. In high-chill years as many as 80% of blossoms may reach full bloom at once; in low-chill years the share may be below 50%. (Source: UC IPM, Almond Pest Management Guidelines)

Fewer bees

Self-fertile almonds: Independence and Shasta

Self-fertile varieties can set nuts with pollen from the same tree, so growers can rent fewer hives. They still benefit from bees.

1. Self-fertile varieties made up 7.1% of 2024 almond acres. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)
2. As of 2018, about 5% of almond acres with a known variety were self-fertile. (Source: Champetier, Lee and Sumner, Choices, 2019)
3. Self-fertile varieties (Independence and Shasta combined) passed 25% of new plantings within eight years of release, second only to Nonpareil. (Source: Champetier, Lee and Sumner, Choices, 2019)
4. Economists estimated self-fertile orchards need about 0.5 hive per acre, versus about 2 for traditional varieties. (Source: Champetier, Lee and Sumner, Choices, 2019)
5. A UC Davis-led study found honey bee pollination significantly improves nut set and whole-tree yields in the self-fertile Independence variety. (Source: UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, news release on a preprint)

Hive recommendations for self-fertile orchards differ: 0.5 hive per acre (Choices, 2019), 0.5 to 1 (Almond Board) and 1 per acre (farmdoc daily demand model). The UC Davis Independence study was a preprint under review when the university described it.

The risks

Bee losses, pesticides and hive theft during almond pollination

Moving millions of colonies into one crop concentrates risk. Pesticide exposure, disease and theft all peak around bloom.

1. California lost 220,000 colonies (18%) in January through March 2026, compared with 150,000 (12%) in the same quarter of 2025; the U.S. loss rate for the quarter was 16%. (Source: USDA NASS, Honey Bee Colonies, August 2026)
2. Beekeepers reported pesticides as a stressor in 13.7% of California colonies in January through March 2026, up from 7.6% a year earlier; varroa mites affected 31.1%. (Source: USDA NASS, Honey Bee Colonies, August 2026)
3. In the 2014 bloom, about 80,000 colonies, roughly 5% of the bees brought in, showed adult bee deaths or dead and deformed brood. (Source: Ohio State University news release, 2019)
4. Lab tests found insecticide and fungicide combinations, each considered safe alone, cut larval survival by more than 60% in the most extreme cases. (Source: Ohio State University news release on Wade et al., Insects, 2019)
5. The Almond Board advises avoiding insecticides during bloom (except Bt), spraying needed fungicides in late afternoon or evening, and contacting beekeepers 48 hours before an application. (Source: Almond Board of California, 2019, updated 2020)
6. Early estimates from Project Apis m., cited in Choices, indicated the loss of about 1.6 million honey bee colonies in 2025, with commercial beekeepers averaging 62% colony losses. (Source: Project Apis m. estimate, cited by Yeh, Brown and Goodrich, Choices, 2025)
7. Bee rustlers stole about 2,300 beehives in California in 2023, a state record. (Source: UPI, 2024)
8. Less than two months into 2024, Butte County Sheriff's Deputy Rowdy Freeman had received at least 11 reports of stolen hives totaling 912 hives. (Source: UPI, 2024, quoting the Butte County Sheriff's Office)
9. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office reported about 600 hives stolen over four months in 2023-2024, worth roughly $150,000, with thefts peaking January through March. (Source: ABC7, 2024, quoting the Fresno County Sheriff's Office)
10. In February 2026, 172 hives reported stolen from a Merced County orchard were found by Yolo County deputies. (Source: Turlock Journal, February 2026, reporting Merced County Sheriff's Office information)
11. Round-trip trucking of colonies from the Southeast costs $27 to $42 per colony. (Source: UC Davis Cooperative Extension presentation, Goodrich)
12. Average winter colony survival in recent years has been roughly 70%. (Source: farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025)

The 2014 incident numbers come from a university news release, not a regulatory count. NASS stressor figures are beekeeper-reported and do not prove a cause of death. The 2,300-hive theft total is a news report figure; the annual Hive Theft Report itself is compiled by the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force and was not available to verify.

Other pollinators

Native bees and blue orchard bees in almond orchards

Honey bees do most of the work, but UC research shows wild bees make honey bees more effective, and a native mason bee is being used as a managed pollinator.

1. A study by researchers at Leuphana University (Germany), UC Berkeley and UC Davis found honey bees pollinate almonds more effectively when other bee species forage alongside them. (Source: Brittain, Williams, Kremen and Klein, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2013)
2. In high winds, orchards with only honey bees received almost no pollination, while wild bees buffered the loss. (Source: Brittain, Kremen and Klein, Global Change Biology, 2013)
3. The orchard study ran from 2008 to 2010, and native bee specialist Robbin Thorp identified 50 bee species, including bumble bees, sweat bees and blue orchard bees. (Source: UC ANR Bug Squad blog, 2018)
4. About 400 nesting blue orchard bee females are needed to pollinate one acre of almonds, compared with 2.5 to 3 honey bee hives. (Source: USDA ARS, Agricultural Research magazine, 2000)
5. A USDA ARS fact sheet gives a California almond stocking rate of about 1,000 blue orchard bees plus one honey bee hive per acre. (Source: USDA ARS and Utah State University Extension, Blue Orchard Bee fact sheet, 2021)
6. Adult blue orchard bees live about 4 to 6 weeks, and early adopters use them during the February almond bloom. (Source: USDA ARS and Utah State University Extension, Blue Orchard Bee fact sheet, 2021)
7. In a well-managed bee pasture under favorable conditions, blue orchard bee populations can increase by as much as four- to fivefold a year, according to ARS entomologist James Cane. (Source: USDA ARS, Agricultural Research magazine, 2010)
8. About 42% of California almond orchards, more than half a million acres, keep native plant cover between tree rows. (Source: Almond Board of California)
9. More than 170,000 almond acres are certified under Pollinator Partnership's Bee Friendly Farming program, and Project Apis m.'s Seeds for Bees program has added habitat to over 123,000 almond acres since 2013. (Source: Almond Board of California)

The Almond Board habitat figures are industry-reported. The blue orchard bee stocking figures differ by source and year: 400 nesting females per acre alone (ARS, 2000) versus about 1,000 bees plus one honey bee hive per acre (ARS fact sheet, 2021).

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

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How this page was made

Methodology & sources

Every fact on this page was traced to a primary source (a government data release, a university research or extension publication, a professional medical body or a peer-reviewed paper) and checked against the original document. Data years are given where they differ from publication years. Where reputable sources disagree, both figures are shown. Sources are named in plain text next to each fact.

• USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Cost of Pollination (2016, 2017, 2023, 2024, 2026)
• USDA NASS, Honey Bee Colonies, August 2026
• USDA NASS, 2025 California Almond Objective Measurement Report
• USDA Economic Research Service, Chart of Note, 2025
• USDA Agricultural Research Service, Agricultural Research magazine (2000, 2010)
• USDA ARS and Utah State University Extension, Blue Orchard Bee fact sheet, 2021
• Almond Board of California
• Almond Board of California / Land IQ acreage estimates (2025, 2026)
• California Department of Food and Agriculture
• UC IPM, Almond Pest Management Guidelines
• UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento Valley Orchard Source
• UC Davis Cooperative Extension (Goodrich) presentation
• UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
• UC ANR Bug Squad blog (2016 post quoting The Washington Post; 2018)
• farmdoc daily, University of Illinois, 2025
• Choices magazine (Champetier, Lee and Sumner, 2019; Yeh, Brown and Goodrich, 2025, citing Project Apis m.)
• Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2013
• Global Change Biology, 2013
• Ohio State University news release, 2019
• UPI, 2024
• ABC7, 2024
• Turlock Journal, 2026
• FreshPlaza, 2026