Yolo County nut buying period announced

Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner Humberto Izquierdo announced earlier this week that the nut-buying period began on Aug. 1, 2023, and will run through April 1, 2024, in accordance with the county’s nut theft ordinance.

According to a Yolo County press release, on May 13, 2014, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors adopted a nut theft ordinance to assist with the issue of nuts being stolen from orchards and sold illegally.

The declaration of the nut buying period, and related proof of ownership requirements, assist the Agriculture, Weights and Measures Department in enforcing the ordinance through compliance checks at places where nuts are sold.

During this period, persons in possession of unprocessed “nuts” (almond, walnut, or pistachio) shall be required to show proof of ownership. Under probable cause, the agricultural commissioner or any peace officer may inspect the commodity and request that proof of ownership be provided.

Proof of ownership shall contain the following information:

The proof of ownership shall be retained with the nut commodity to which it pertains while the commodity is in any person’s possession. Proof of ownership forms may be obtained from the Yolo County Agriculture, Weights & Measures Department, located at 70 Cottonwood St., or at the Yolo County Farm Bureau, located at 69 W. Kentucky Ave.

Additionally, the proof of ownership form is available online at www.yolocounty.org/nuttheft.

According to the 2021 Yolo County Crop Report, nuts including almonds, walnuts, and pistachios are massive local agricultural commodities, with all three in the top 10.

Almonds came in as the No. 1 commodity in Yolo County, accounting for $137.1 million of agricultural production. Walnuts were the No. 6 commodity with $37.5 million in production while pistachios rounded out the top 10 as the No. 9 commodity, accounting for $29.1 million.

The 2022 Crop Report will likely be finalized in the next few weeks. After, the report will be brought forward to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors sometime in September or October.

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