The local walnut harvest season is in full swing in San Benito
County. Since the end of September, local walnut growers have been
busy with harvesting and processing walnuts for sale in the United
States and beyond.
The local walnut harvest season is in full swing in San Benito County. Since the end of September, local walnut growers have been busy with harvesting and processing walnuts for sale in the United States and beyond.
Harvesting includes shaking the nuts from trees, then having them raked into piles and collected in large bins. After this is done, usually in a day, it’s on to the processing plant, said Frank Guerra, owner of Guerra Nut Shelling, Inc.
The processing includes walnut hulling, dehydration, fumigation and shelling. Once the nuts are out of their shells, they are graded for size, color and quality. Then the walnuts are packaged and shipped off. For the nuts going global, the entire process can take a minimum of three or four days. Domestic nuts are usually processed during a nine-month period and stored in both cold-storage and regular warehouses.
Guerra said that nuts from California are of “superior quality over many other regions in the world.” About 40 percent to 50 percent of his company’s nuts are exports to Europe, Australia and Asia, he said.
