USDA Amends Walnut Marketing Order Referendum

USDA has announced amendments to the federal marketing order regulating the handling of walnuts grown in California. These amendments authorize the California Walnut Board (CWB) to provide credit for market promotion expenses paid by handlers against their annual assessments due under the program.

Key highlights from the walnut marketing order announcement include:

• The amendments were approved in a referendum conducted Nov. 30 through Dec. 11, 2020.
• They were favored by 80.57% of the growers voting, representing 82.81% of the total volume of walnuts.
• To gain approval, the amendments needed support of at least two-thirds of the growers voting in the referendum or at least two-thirds of the volume of walnuts grown by those voting in the referendum.

This authority will allow handlers to receive a credit-back for eligible marketing expenditures of 70 cents for every dollar in spend. This important authority is one of the ways the CWB is modernizing the order to make it work harder for the industry, using every possible tool available to spur new investment in new product development and marketing initiatives to continue growing walnut consumption.