“Sacramento Valley Walnut Growers export not only across the US but also globally, including India, Japan, China, Australia, South Korea and Turkey,” he said. The company exported about 4,500 tonnes of walnuts last year. The harvesting is done by machines that shake the trees, sweeps the fallen nuts and collects them for cleaning, after which they directly go into a modern processing facility which is the final step in a walnut’s journey from the orchard to the table— “Farm to Fork”, as the growers put it. The facility processes about 20 million walnuts at a time and also takes care of packaging and distribution. Not only does the walnut taste great, it is a healthy nut that helps in fighting a number of diseases.

“As our research evolved, we learnt that walnuts are very helpful in decreasing diabetes, cancer and heart diseases and also in weight management,” Carol Sloan, a dietician with California Walnut Commission (CWC), said. “Walnuts contain the Omega 3 fatty acids which our bodies don’t produce on their own and making these nuts a part of our daily meals is a very healthy idea.”