CWC April 2019 California Walnut News

WALNUT NEWS APRIL 2019

TRADE MITIGATION FUNDING WILL BENEFIT EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT The California Walnut Commission has the opportunity to continue its efforts to expand export market development with the USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP) and Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP).

Through a competitive grant process, the CWC was awarded $4.1 million in MAP funds on February 6, 2019.

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) partners with U.S. agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups and small businesses to share the costs, by matching dollars, of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities.

This is on the heels of the January 31, 2019 announcement awarding the CWC $1.6 million in additional funding through the Agriculture Trade Promotion Program (ATP) to conduct activities that would augment and expand current export promotion activities. Administered by USDA’s FAS, the ATP is one of three USDA programs within the Trump Administration’s trade mitigation package announced last

year—created to provide relief to farmers suffering from the effects of recent trade retaliation against U.S. farmers

IN THIS ISSUE California Ag Water

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Dietary Guidelines 3 New Research

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and exporters.

With the industry facing challenges in some key markets due to tariff actions over the past year, additional resources like ATP funds are critical to bolster and expand export markets. As part of the trade mitigation package, the USDA purchased $34.6 million in walnuts through the Food Purchase and Distribution Program.

California walnut growers have a long history of recognizing the value of export market development and the California walnut industry has grown in the past decade with production nearly doubling since 2007. The MAP and ATP funds allow the Commission to develop and execute integrated marketing programs that increase awareness of walnuts grown in California, drive retail purchase, and educate food manufacturers, chefs and other key decision makers on how to incorporate California walnuts into their product and menu offerings.

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CALIFORNIA AG WATER: CURRENT REGULATORY CHALLENGES

been made to this so called ‘Bay Delta Plan’. Several agricultural commodity groups, including California Walnut Commission, have voiced their opposition. Critics of the plan argue that voluntary water sharing agreements between various stakeholders can yield better results than arbitrary unimpaired flow decisions. Further, they

After years of drought, the 2019 winter is turning out to be

point out that water flow is just one of the factors affecting

a good one for California’s water supply. Several winter

species survival. Habitat loss is another critical factor

storm systems in the past couple of months means that

that must be taken into account. Mere unimpaired water

there is plenty of water everywhere. In some parts of the

flow would not be as beneficial to species restoration.

state, more than plenty, as evidenced from flooding events.

To that effect, cooperation among various stakeholder

Snow pack is above average (156%) and reservoirs are

groups-agricultural water rights, urban drinking water,

sufficiently full. So, farmers can rest easy, eh? Not so fast.

and environmental groups, is the appropriate way to go.

Some of you may have heard that the State Water

Another regulatory issue of importance is the Sustainable

Resource Board announced in December 2018 that up

Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). This was passed

to 50% of the water flowing through Lower San Joaquin

in 2014, at the height of California drought, to avoid

River and its tributaries-the Stanislaus, Merced and

severe depletion of groundwater and its quality. The first

Tuolumne rivers, will be required to flow unimpaired

phase of SGMA implementation is approaching soon

i.e. without diversions. The Water Board contends this

(2020) when local water agencies will need to prepare

is needed to restore critically endangered fish species

and start implementing Groundwater Sustainability Plans

that depend on the flow. A second phase of the plan

(GSP), which will include annual tabulation of how much

would see similar flow requirements for the Sacramento

groundwater is being extracted. Growers should have

River and its tributaries-the Feather, Yuba and American

heard by now from their local water agencies as to which

Rivers. As you can imagine, this will have a severe

Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) they belong

impact on agriculture that depends on this water.

to and what the annual reporting requirements are.

However, this is not a done deal. There are other

Regardless of the regulatory issue, the California Walnut

regulatory processes that must be followed before the

Commission will continue to make sure the opinions

plan can go into effect. But already, legal challenges have

of the California Walnut industry are represented.

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2020–2025 DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS PROCESS BEGINS On February 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services jointly announced the appointment of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Committee. The nomination of the committee starts the Dietary Guidelines process, which is the basis for nutrition recommendations in the United States. The committee is comprised of 20 nationally recognized health and nutrition experts and includes two researchers that have conducted studies on walnuts. Dr. Joan Sabaté out of Loma Linda University conducted the first health

research study on walnuts, was a primary investigator on the dual site Walnuts and Healthy Aging Trial (WAHA), and served on the former CWC Scientific Advisory Council. Dr. Richard Mattes from Purdue University has recently completed work that evaluates the mastication and corresponding release of energy of walnuts.

NEW RESEARCH EXPLORES WALNUTS AND MENTAL HEALTH

concentrating on things. According to the findings, walnut

Over the past decade, the CWC has been conducting research on walnuts and various aspects of cognitive health. A new epidemiological study from Dr. Lenore Arab out of UCLA, is the first time the CWC has researched symptoms of depression, and suggests consuming walnuts may be associated with a lower prevalence and frequency of depression symptoms among American adults.1 Researchers examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which draws from a large sampling of the U.S. population. After evaluating study participants for depression, researchers found that depression scores were 26 percent lower for walnut

The California Walnut Commission will be compiling research published since the last round of Dietary Guidelines and submitting those publications to the committee for consideration.

consumers were more likely to have greater interest in activities, higher energy levels, less hopelessness (for women), better concentration, and greater optimism.

“According to the CDC, one out of every six adults will have depression at some time in their life. It is important to find low-cost interventions, such as dietary changes, that are easy to implement and may help reduce the incidence of depression,” says lead investigator Dr. Lenore Arab of the David Geffen School of Medicine at The University of California, Los Angeles. "Walnuts have previously been investigated for their potential role in cardiovascular and cognitive health, and now we see an association with depression symptoms—providing another reason to include them in a healthy eating plan.”

consumers and eight percent lower for consumers of other

As with any scientific research, some study limitations

nuts, compared to those who did not consume nuts at all.

should be considered. Due to the cross-sectional observational nature of the study, the findings cannot

More than 26,000 American adults were asked about

prove causality and are subject to the risk of diet changing

their dietary intake over the course of one to two days as

after a diagnosis occurs in response to the condition.

well as depression symptoms over the past two weeks.

Depression may also change typical appetite and eating

Using a widely accepted questionnaire, participants

behaviors resulting in apparent associations that are not

ranked how often they experienced factors such as little

causal. In addition, participants were asked about their

interest in doing things, trouble sleeping or sleeping too

dietary choices over the course of one to two days, which

much, feeling tired or having little energy, and trouble

may not be representative of usual consumption patterns.

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Arab L, Guo R, Elashoff D. Lower Depression Scores among Walnut Consumers in NHANES. Nutrients. 2019;11(2):275. //doi.org/10.3390/nu11020275

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CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMMISSION 101 Parkshore Drive, Suite 250 Folsom, CA 95630

UPCOMING EVENTS MEETINGS

CALIFORNIA WALNUT BOARD & CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMMISSION

⊲⊲ California Walnut Board and California Walnut Commission Annual Spring Meeting May 8, 2019 Hyatt Regency, Monterey For more info or to register, please contact Dana Hull at (916) 932-7070

CONTACT INFO California Walnut Board and California Walnut Commission 101 Parkshore Drive, Suite 250 Folsom, CA 95630 phone 916.932.7070 email info@walnuts.org fax 916.932.7071

walnuts.org

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