The California Walnut Board was established in 1948 to represent the walnut growers and handlers of California. The Board is funded by mandatory assessments of the handlers. The California Walnut Commission, established in 1987, is funded by mandatory assessments of the growers.
The California Walnut Board and California Walnut Commission represent the California walnut industry, made up of approximately 72 handlers and 4,000 growers.
The California Walnut Board was established in 1948 to represent the walnut growers and handlers of California and is governed by a Federal Walnut Marketing Order. The Board promotes usage of walnuts in the United States through publicity and educational programs. The Board also provides funding for walnut production and post-harvest research.
The Board’s key functions are production and post-harvest research, market development activities including advertising, economic analysis, the establishment and maintenance of grades and standards (accomplished through inspections conducted by DFA), and volume controls and reserves. As with all Federal Marketing Orders, the Board is empowered by the Agricultural Agreement Act of 1937. Essentially, this piece of federal legislation allows the Board to collect funds from industry handlers in the form of an assessment rate. The monies gathered as a result of this assessment are then used for the best interest of the industry and with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. In fact, once the Board passes upon our resolutions in May and September of each year they are forwarded to the USDA for review and ultimate approval by the Secretary. Technically, although the Board is collecting the money from its handlers, the money spent is federal money.
Under our Federal Marketing Order, all walnuts are inspected and certified by DFA adhering to strict USDA specifications. The Folsom office of the California Walnut Board provides many services to the industry as outlined above. Today, the two essential functions of the Board are market development activities and production and post-harvest research. Not coincidentally, these are also the two areas in which the Board expends the majority of its funds.
Click here for the list of California Walnut Board Members, Alternates and Committees
The California Walnut Commission was established in 1987. The Commission is an agency of the State of California, that works in concurrence with the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The Commission was established under California law, which allows the industry to organize and assess itself (in this case the growers) in order to generate monies to accomplish a myriad of activities. The Commission’s primary interest however, is and has been since its inception, export market development.
The Commission was established due to the fact that the Target Export Assistance (TEA) program passed by the U.S. Senate and Congress in 1985 provided money to those commodities which were the targets of unfair trade practices overseas for the purpose of market development. However, since the Board could not advertise at that time one of the important tools of the marketing mix was not available to use. The specific law authorizing the Commission was passed in April of 1987 and the referendum of the growers approving the establishment of the Commission took place three months later in July of 1987. It was then that the Commission formally began its activities.
Today the Commission also conducts extensive health and nutrition research and takes an active role in publicizing the outcomes in all markets including the United States. An important facet of the Commission’s operation also involves the evaluation of our marketing efforts through market research. The Commission is also responsible for communication within the industry.
Click here for the list of California Walnut Commission Members, Alternates and Committees
