Ag commissioners announce Y-S walnut buying period opening
Officials from Yuba and Sutter counties announced this year’s walnut buying period will begin Nov. 8.
Walnuts are one of the area’s leading agricultural commodities, with just over 54,000 acres harvested throughout Yuba and Sutter counties in 2018 for a total market value worth about $128.3 million.
The amount of walnuts grown and their worth on the market made the commodity attractive to thieves in years past, prompting local officials to establish an ordinance in 2014 that essentially lays out when non-processing walnut buying operations can occur in the area.
“The Walnut Theft Prevention ordinance is intended to deter theft and proof of ownership is a mandatory requirement of the ordinance,” said Sutter County Ag Commissioner Lisa Herbert in a press release.
This year’s buying window will run from Nov. 8 to April 30, 2020. The announcement is also a declaration that the walnut harvest of the Chandler variety has concluded.
In addition to the buying period, the ordinance establishes requirements regarding the transportation and identification of walnuts, as well as requires proof of ownership documentation.
“The ‘Proof of Ownership’ form, required by the ordinance, makes it harder for thieves to cash in on the stolen nuts,” said Todd Quist, assistant agricultural commissioner, in a press release.
The ordinance does not affect growers hauling their own crop to a processing plant, and walnut processing facilities can continue to purchase walnuts at any time as well.
Other counties in the region that have adopted similar ordinances include Butte, Tehama and Glenn. Officials in each of the counties work together and with growers to determine when the buying period should begin.
For more information about Sutter County’s ordinance or to access a proof of ownership form approved by the Ag Commissioner’s office, go to www.co.sutter.ca.us/ doc/government/depts/ ag/aghome. For more information about Yuba County’s ordinance, go to the Agricultural Commissioner’s tab at www. yuba.org.