Association President/CEO Isom Delivers Keynote Address

CSU Fresno Industrial Technology Annual Spring Banquet

This past week, the CSU Fresno Department of Industrial Technology held their Annual Spring Banquet to highlight the department’s activities and recognize graduating students of both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.  Association President/CEO Roger A. Isom gave the keynote address urging students to “Write their own success story”, which just so happens to be the message presented front and center on home page of the Fresno State University website. Over 100 people attended the event, where several students were recognized for their academic excellence. One of the Association’s own members, Mallvinder Karal of Atlas Almonds, was recognized for his work as a part time instructor teaching the course on tree nut processing with the WTNA Tree Nut Processing Laboratory at Fresno State. In his speech, Isom highlighted the many students now working in the California tree nut industry that have graduated from the CSU Fresno Industrial Technology Program. He encouraged students stating “opportunities abound in the tree nut industry for students just like you. You’ve been given a golden opportunity to get a high-quality education right here in the breadbasket of the world and our industry needs you. Now is truly the time to “Write your own success story!” 

Pre-Harvest Water Workshop Series Continues – April 17 in Winters

Water Assessment Madera

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Madera for the kickoff of our Pre-Harvest Water Assessment Workshop series! It was a successful start, and we appreciate the engagement and thoughtful questions from attendees.
A special thank-you to The Hulling Company for graciously hosting our first workshop!

As a reminder, this workshop series is designed to support growers in understanding and implementing the new pre-harvest water assessment requirements under the Produce Safety Rule. Compliance deadlines are now in effect for large farms (more than $500,000 in annual produce sales), with small ($250,000–$500,000) and very small farms phased in over the next two years. It’s important that growers are well-prepared to meet these requirements during on-farm inspections.

Next up:
       Winters – Wednesday, April 17

There’s still time to register! These free, in-person workshops offer valuable insight from CDFA inspectors and UCANR staff, including a live Q&A tailored to your operation. This is a great opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge on a requirement that can be complex to navigate. RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive the exact location.

April 17 – Winters
April 28 –Hanford
April 29 – Wasco
April 30 – Manteca
May 29 –Chico

Refer to the flyer for additional details.Let’s keep the momentum going, please feel free to share this opportunity with growers in your network!

Waste Diversion Reporting Legislation Clears First Hurdle

Waste Diversion Reporting Legislation

Many of our member huller or processor facilities have been required over the past 2 to 3 years to register with their respective county as a Tier 1 commercial edible food generator.  Facilities subject to this regulation must report how much of their waste goes to a landfill.  Since tree nut facilities utilize every aspect of their products and byproducts, this regulation has never made any sense and has caused an undue burden on our members.  AB 1046 carried by Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains would provide a very narrow exemption for ag processing facilities that do not send waste to a landfill from being subject to the food waste diversion reporting regulations promulgated by CalRecycle and administered by the counties.  This week, AB 1046 was up before the Assembly Natural Resources committee and Association President/CEO Roger A. Isom was the lead witness to testify in support of the bill.  Isom stated “our tree nut hulling and processing operations utilize every aspect of our products and byproducts.  Nothing goes to a landfill, and providing this very narrow exemption would alleviate one of the many burdens facing our industry.”  AB 1046 passed out of Assembly Natural Resources by a 14 to 0 vote.  We still have a long way to get it to the Governor’s Desk, but this is a very encouraging sign.

WTNA and CDFA Kick Off Pre-harvest Water Assessment Regional Workshops

Pre Harvest Kickoff

This past week the Western Tree Nut Association (WTNA) in conjunction with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) conducted the first in a series of Pre-Harvest Water Assessment Regional Workshops for Tree Nut Growers.  These workshops are designed to ensure tree nut growers are prepared for the Food safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the Produce Safety Rule or PSR Agricultural Water requirements which will be in affect on April 7th, 2025. WTNA President/CEO Roger A. Isom opened the workshop by thanking attendees for being there and recognized CDFA for participating in these events for their continued partnership with the tree nut industry. Presenting on behalf of CDFA was Angela Terrazzas, Senior Environmental Scientist and Produce Safety Rule Specialist, as well as Briana Russell, PSP Standardization and Training Specialist with the Produce Safety Program. CDFA provided an overview and recommendations on the pre-harvest water assessment and how to tailor it to your operations. The CDFA Representatives also discussed the post-harvest water requirements, which are now enforceable. WTNA Assistant Vice President Priscilla Rodriguez wrapped the workshop by informing participants of the WTNA’s efforts and that WTNA would be releasing pre-harvest water assessment template for tree nut operations very soon. Stay tuned!

WTNA Bakersfield Membership Mixer - April 9th

Western Tree Nut Association staff and Board Members will be hosting you at Luigi’s in Bakersfield on April 9th from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM. Our mixer events are a great opportunity for Members and Associates to get together and enjoy company, good drinks and appetizers. Due to limited space, you must RSVP to attend. If you are interested in attending or sponsoring, please reach out to Esmeralda Miranda at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at (559) 455-9272.

2025 Mixer Bakersfield UPDATE

  1. Chico Aerial Lift Train-the-Trainer Workshop CANCELED
  2. USDA Announces Agricultural Trade Promotion Programs for FY 2026
  3. AgSafe Outreach Briefing: Immigration Enforcement Resources for Agricultural Employers
  4. 2025 WTNA Annual Meeting & Trade Show

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Welcome to WAPA

Governor Signs Ag Overtime Bill

Ignoring the pleas of real farmworkers and the agricultural industry, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed AB 1066, the ag overtime legislation. This means that California will have the most stringent trigger of any state in the country for overtime for farmworkers, with 45 states having no overtime protection at all. The Governor signed this bill, supposedly to bring “equality to all workers”, yet taxi cab drivers, commercial fishermen, car salesmen, student nurses, computer programmers, and carnival workers all work without any overtime provisions whatsoever. The Governor signed this ag overtime bill in the same year that minimum wage legislation was also passed that will take California to the highest minimum wage as well as legislation forcing California to adopt additional greenhouse gas regulations for businesses in California. California is the only state in the country subject to such regulations. Today’s signing occurred despite numerous requests by the agricultural industry to meet with the Governor to discuss our concerns. The message is clear. California simply doesn’t care. These provisions will be phased in over the next few years ending with the overtime provisions to be triggered at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

In the Beginning As folks transitioned out of cotton and into tree nuts, the industry recognized the need to have active and effective representation at the local, state and national levels. Having enjoyed such effective representation over the years from the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, these folks yearned for the same representation in the tree nut processing industry. Issues such as air quality, food safety, labor, taxes, employee safety, and environmental concerns are at the forefront, and there is a significant need for an aggressive and dynamic Association to lead the industry into the next decade and beyond. In recognition of this, the Western Agricultural Processors Association was created in 2009. The Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) shares staff and office space with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations taking advantage of a unique and opportunistic situation. WAPA is a voluntary dues organization with four shared staff and one dedicated staff person. Regulatory, legislative and legal issues fall under the purview of this new organization for the tree nut processing industry, which includes almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. From air quality permits to conditional use permits, from regulatory hearings on greenhouse gases to federal legislation on food safety, and from OSHA violations to assisting members on hazardous materials business plans, no issue is too small or too large for WAPA. WAPA has assembled one of the best and most capable staffs in the industry, and the results are already starting to show Membership The Western Agricultural Processors Association represents facilities involved in the processing of almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts.Membership in the Association is classified as Regular memberships are limited to almond hullers or processors, pecan and pistachio processors, and walnut dehydrators and processors. Associate memberships are limited to any individual or business entity which is not engaged in agricultural processing, but which provides products or services directly related to the agricultural processing industry. WAPA Associate members include, but are not limited to, commodity brokers, accounting firms, and insurance brokers. Organization The Western Agricultural Processors Association is governed by a Board of Directors, elected by its membership.The Board consists of up to 15 members from throughout the state, and throughout the industry.The Board meets on a quarterly basis and conducts an Annual Meeting in the spring of each year.WAPA, in conjunction with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, conducts a special training school for its members focused on safety.In combination with the school, the Association holds a Labor Management Seminar for all of the managers. Consulting Services In researching and considering the concept of forming a new organization, the Boards of Directors for the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations instructed staff to perform some of the work on a consulting basis first. The point was to determine the workload from consulting and to determine if there was sufficient interest. In November of 2007, the Association began conducting services under consulting contracts for such services as air quality permits and safety plans.The effort has been so successful that demand has progressed outside the tree nut industry into other agricultural processing facilities, including vegetable dehydration facilities, tomato processing facilities, and wheat mills, as well as cotton gins in Arizona.It was determined by the new Board of Directors of WAPA, that WAPA would maintain the consulting services to provide offsetting income to help with the expenses of getting the new organization up and running.Today, WAPA provides for a long list of satisfied clients in the agricultural processing industry, by providing critical services such as air quality, safety, food safety, and environmental issues (Hazardous Materials Business Plan, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans, etc.).