Overview

Pistachio trees originated in the dry lands and desert climates of Asia Minor. They were introduced in California in 1854, but the U.S. commercial industry did not develop until 1976. Over the last 30 years, the U.S. pistachio industry has grown rapidly in California, the major commercial pistachio producing state. Today, the United States is the second leading producer and exporter of pistachios behind Iran.  March 2008 . . . Pistachios

Marketing

• California Pistachios, Marketing Orders, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA.
• California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) - This nonprofit educational organization represents the world’s fruit growers. Membership includes nationally recognized botanical gardens and noted international horticultural researchers, as well as hobbyists, commercial growers and representatives from institutions of higher learning.
• Demand Enhancement through Food-Safety Regulation: A Case Study of the Marketing Order for California Pistachios, Chapter 14 in H. Kaiser, J.M. Alston, J. Crespi and R.J. Sexton (eds), Commodity Promotion Programs in California: Economic Evaluation and Legal Issues, 2004 - This study discusses the economic rational for an industry's collective action and presents the federal marketing order for California pistachio as an example.
• Industry Initiated Regulation and Food Safety: the New Federal Marketing Order for Pistachios  University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, ARE Update, 2005.
• Industry-Mandated Testing to Improve Food Safety: the New U.S. Marketing Order for Pistachios, German Journal of Agricultural Economics (Special Issue on Food Quality, Incomplete Consumer Information and the Role of Markets and the State), 2004 - This study investigates the federal marketing order and outlines how collective action in the form of a marketing order can serve as a useful tool to ensure a safe food product and increase benefits to producers and consumers.
• Iran savours tasty times again for pistachios, eubusiness.com, 2006.
• Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts, 2007 Preliminary Summary, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, January 2008. 
• Northern Nut Growers Association, Inc. (NNGA) - Brings together people interested in growing nut trees. Members include experts in nut tree cultivation, nut growers, nut tree breeders, nursery people and foresters.
• Peanut and Tree Nut Processors Association
• The U.S. Pistachio Industry Situation, Foreign Agricultural Service, 2002 - The United States share of the world pistachio production marketing from 1995 through 2000.
• Western Pistachio Association.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Almond Hullers and Processors Association
• Momtazan Products - Hulling and processing line equipment supplier. All processing steps are outlined and processing equipment is explained.
• Postharvest Pistachio Information: Summary Checklist for Harvesting Pistachios, Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center, University of California, Davis. 
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (NECE) Standard DF-09, 2004 - Concerns the marketing and commercial quality control of unshelled pistachio nuts moving in international trade between and to UNECE member countries.
• The United States Standards for Grades of Pistachio Nuts in the Shell, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA, 1997. 

Production

• Pistachio, Integrated Pest Management guidelines, University of California, Davis. 
• 2004 Sample Costs to Establish and Produce Pistachios, San Joaquin Valley, California. University of California Cooperative Extension Extension - The sample costs for establishment of a pistachio orchard and production of pistachios in the San Joaquin Valley are presented in this study.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Erick Nielsen Enterprises, Inc., California - This family-owned and -operated agribusiness group specializes in orchard services, providing mechanical pruning and prune and pistachio harvesting to growers since 1972. Includes a photo gallery of specialized pistachio harvesting equipment.
• Heart of the Desert, Inc., Eagle Ranch, New Mexico - Offers a free farm tour combining agritourism with agribusiness. These tours offer visitors an in-depth look at how pistachios are grown and processed. Eagle Ranch is a self-contained agribusiness that handles all aspects of production from crop to product.
• Rich Fields Pistachios, Davis, California - Rich Fields Farm is a small farm that has research and educational (agritourism), as well as commercial functions. Example of a small diversified organic producer.
• Paramount Farms Inc., California - This is a technology intensive pistachio and almond operation in the San Joaquin Valley.

Links checked February 2008.