With Walnut Day 2026, the harvesting of Romagna Walnuts began

Last Friday 2 October, the Walnut Day took place, the annual event celebrating the start of the harvesting of Romagna Walnuts, an Italian supply-chain project developed by New Factor together with a network of local farms.

An exclusive experience

The protagonists of the 2026 edition were the 10 winners of the second edition of the national competition "I Entrust You with a Walnut Tree", who had the opportunity to enjoy an exclusive experience at the heart of Romagna's walnut-growing region, at the San Martino Farm in Forlì.

The guests were able to watch the harvesting and initial processing of the walnuts live, strolling between the rows of walnut groves and visiting the facilities where the product is dehulled, dried and sorted before being sent to New Factor's plants for the final packaging stage and distribution to mass-retail outlets.

The custodians of the walnut tree

The most exciting moment was the official entrusting of the walnut tree: each winner received a personalised plaque, becoming the symbolic custodian of their own tree for the next twelve months. Thanks to a dedicated monitoring system, they will be able to follow its growth remotely and return to visit it during the year, establishing a direct connection with the land and with those who work tirelessly every day to produce Italian walnuts of the highest quality.

The winners received a pack of 5 kg of walnuts from the entrusted tree. The "I Entrust You with a Walnut Tree" initiative represents the essence of this philosophy: not simply a competition, but an opportunity to make consumers an integral part of the supply chain, transforming them for one year into the custodian of a tree and a direct witness to the journey that takes the walnut from field to table.

A complex campaign

This year's Walnut Day coincides with a particularly complex production campaign for the entire Italian walnut-growing sector.

The 2026 was characterised by exceptionally high temperatures lasting from May to September, accompanied by extreme weather events such as windstorms, torrential rain and hailstorms that affected several production areas across the country.

In numerous areas of northern Italy, particularly in some parts of Veneto, hailstorms had a significant impact on yields. Romagna Walnuts have also recorded production generally below initial expectations and slightly smaller average sizes compared with the previous campaign, while maintaining excellent quality standards.

The situation is similar in Campania, where the traditional Sorrento walnuts have been affected by the particularly hot and dry summer. The initial indications available point to quantities lower than 2025, as is also the case for some Italian production of the Chandler variety.

The final assessments will only be available in the coming weeks, once harvesting and sizing operations have been completed.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.