The Board of Directors of Walnuts NZ Co-op has decided that the co-operative will no longer be involved in the arrangement of drying services for growers. The board wants to see our staff time and resources focused on those tasks that growers cannot easily do themselves, namely processing and marketing. In contrast, drying of walnuts is a job that can practically be done on-farm. By focusing our efforts like this, we aim to maximise the value for growers’ crops.

This decision means that you will need to either:

• make your own arrangements with a drying service – either as an individual or working as a collective with a group of growers who are using that service; or
• build your own drying equipment – again, either on your own orchard as an individual grower, or working with nearby growers to set up a shared facility.

The co-op, along with the NZ Walnut Industry Group, aims to help you get set up with your drying arrangements for 2018.