During its summer meeting, The Independent Walnut Handlers Association issued its subjective crop estimate for the upcoming 2008 California walnut crop. The estimate was put at 374,900 tons, an increase of 16% over last year's crop of 323,000 tons.

Handlers from all regions of the growing area of California commented on the size and quality of the crop at this stage of its development. All varieties appear to have average to heavy crops, with Tulare, Vina, and Chandler being particularly heavy.

Blight damage has been minimal, owing to the very dry late winter and early spring in California during the walnut bloom.

If the crop estimate is accurate, the 2008 crop will be California's largest on record, exceeding the previous record of 354,000 tons in 2005.

Oakdale, CA - GoldRiver Orchards, a walnut processor based here, has announced major upgrades to its processing facility. The company, which began processing walnuts in 2004, is focusing its efforts on increasing bulk storage of field run walnuts as well as making equipment upgrades in its shelling plant to further improve its product quality.

"We're adding about 700 tons worth of storage capacity here on top of what we already have", said Don Barton, GoldRiver's managing partner and CEO. "We're also adding equipment in the plant designed to more effectively remove foreign material before it gets to our shelling line, as well as conveyance equipment designed to remove the smallest shell fragments in order to make us more efficient in removing that type of product defect."

Barton also announced that GoldRiver will be adding a second electronic sorting machine in its plant this year, thereby increasing its sorting capacity and giving the company more flexibility to respond to customer demand during the peak sales season of October, November, and December. "The past few years, we've been able to meet our customer's demand for product during the peak holiday shipping period, but just barely", Barton explained. "The additional sorting capacity will allow us to continue to give our customers the service and responsiveness they've come to expect from us, while also allowing us to grow."

Oakdale, CA - GoldRiver Orchards, a walnut processor based here, expects significant growth in 2008, thanks to a variety of factors. A major factor is an expected large walnut crop from the Barton Ranch in 2008 after a smaller crop in 2007. "The crop on the trees is impressive," explained Don Barton, GoldRiver's managing partner and CEO. "We've had two below normal crops in a row, so the trees have had a good rest and came out this past spring with vigorous growth and an excellent nut set." Barton explained that walnuts typically have an alternate bearing tendency with a large crop one year, followed by a slightly smaller crop the following year. "But, for a variety of reasons relating to the weather, the 2007 crop - which should have been our "big" year - was actually smaller than the "small" crop we had in 2006," Barton said.

A second reason for GoldRiver's expected increased supply is that it has recruited several new growers who are joining the GoldRiver fold. "We recruit selectively", Barton said. "Because our commitment to outstanding quality is so ingrained in us, we look for growers who have that same commitment in the field. We need great quality from our growers in order to preserve that quality from field to sheller to the box we ship the product in to our customers."

Escalon, CA - One of the area's long-established farming families, the Bartons, held its largest family reunion in fifty years at the Barton Ranch in Escalon during the first weekend of May. One hundred twenty-six family members from 17 states and as far away as Spain, Russia, and Costa Rica were in attendance. The reunion coincided with the 150th birthdays of the family's patriarchs, Perry Franklin and Elizabeth Barton, who migrated to California from the Midwest in 1910 and established the Barton Ranch in 1912.

The ranch business has grown over the decades, and now includes acreage in the communities of Escalon, Ripon, Oakdale, and Riverbank. The family business is managed by members of the fourth generation of the Barton family, and includes production, processing, and marketing of walnuts.

The last time there had been a family gathering of similar size was in 1958 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Elizabeth Barton, who died in 1964 at the age of 106.

The reunion was held in the orchard of the home ranch on the banks of the Stanislaus River. A catered lunch of grilled chicken and tri-tip was served to all of the guests. Speakers from each of the seven branches of the family (P.F. and Elizabeth had seven children) spoke after lunch, recalling memories of their forebears as well as memories of their days spent on the ranch when they had lived or visited there.

The theme of the event was displayed on a large banner posted behind the speakers, quoted from Albert Einstein, "Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn while you sit at the dinner table are the work of many generations. All this is put in your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children."

After the program concluded, guests boarded hayrides for tours of the ranch. They also paid homage to their ancestors who have been laid to rest at Burwood Cemetery. In addition, many of the guests attended a tour of the family's processing and marketing business, GoldRiver Orchards, in Oakdale. Many of the guests commented that they would remember their weekend in Escalon and Oakdale for the rest of their lives.