The California Walnut Commission (CWC) is funded by mandatory assessments of the growers. The CWC is an agency of the State of California that works in concurrence with the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The CWC was established in 1987 under California law. This allows the industry to organize and assess itself (in this case the growers) in order to generate monies to accomplish a myriad of activities. The CWC’s primary interest, however, is and has been since its inception, export market development.

Today they also conduct extensive health and nutrition research and take an active role in publicizing the outcomes in all markets including the United States. An important facet of their operation involves the evaluation of its marketing efforts through market research and are also responsible for communication within the industry with more than 4,800 growers in the state of California.