I’ve been told it works out to 1 gallon per mature nut, but I haven’t verified that.
They do make good firewood when they swap them out, though.
You heard it here, possibly from the same person you’re replying too. Lara Logan did a documentary in the valley and talked to Victor Davis Hanson who owns a farm there. He grows almonds and said they swapped to them due to lower water requirements compared to what they were growing before. I forget what they were growing before. avocado maybe
Here’s an article discussing it, https://www.paesta.psu.edu/podcast/how-much-water-does-it-really-take-grow-almonds-paesta-podcast-series-episode-43
It seems to have been politicized like everything these days.
Of course the bottom line is, they say that’s the most productive place on earth to grow food but when they say that, they usually fail to mention that it only became that way when they started bringing water in from somewhere else.
If you do wood fired BBQ then I’d recommend almond wood. It’s a light flavor and I get a hint of citrus out of it myself.