By Keith Loria – National Nut Grower
Published April 18, 2025
Nichols Farms, a fourth-generation family operation based in Hanford, California, is committed to delivering premium pistachios and almonds from the heart of the fertile San Joaquin Valley.
It farms in three California counties, growing pistachios, almonds and organic pistachios on a total of 4,000 acres — 75% of which are pistachios — accounting for more than 80 million pounds.
Nichols Farms’ origins trace to 1954, when Graydon “Nic” Nichols and his wife Virginia cultivated row crops, primarily cotton, corn, wheat and alfalfa.
Wanting to diversify, the grandfather of James Nichols, a third-generation owner who serves as vice president of farming operations, planted almonds in 1981. Pistachios followed in 1983.
James’ father, Chuck, returned to the business around that time and started the pistachio processing operations.
At the time, entering nuts was viewed as something of a risk, as there wasn’t a true market developed or government subsidies to support the category.
“Fortunately, the public views of pistachios not being a healthy nut changed with research, and over the last 20 years, the industry has grown from a couple of hundred million pounds to last year recording 1.5 billion pounds,” James said.
James and Jeff Nichols are at the helm of their family’s fourth-generation pistachio and almond operation.
In Chuck’s first 15 years leading the pistachio business, it was mainly a bulk export business, putting product in super-sack containers and shipping it raw to other export countries.
James and Jeff Nichols are at the helm of their family’s fourth-generation pistachio and almond operation. Photo courtesy of Nichols Farm.
“But, over the last 10 years, we’ve made a significant push to get into roasting and packaging consumer goods, as well as flavors,” said Jeff Nichols, another of Chuck’s sons, who oversees farming and processing activities. “My brother and I, plus other family members, are benefiting from the risk and vision that my grandfather and father saw.”
Over the last 10 years, Nichols Farms has tripled its volume and doubled its square footage, leading to a significant amount of expansion.
“We continue to invest in state-of-the-art equipment to ensure our quality remains first class,” Jeff said. “We implemented a brand refresh about five years ago, with the addition of six new organic flavors. We’ve also been getting a lot of new distribution as our brand continues to gain traction.”
Read the full piece here
