Ahead of an annual US Department of Agriculture estimate for California walnut production, the outlook is far more positive in 2023, according to the California Walnut Board. In an update published Aug. 9, the CWB credited heavy rains over a long period last winter for restoring subsoil moisture and providing “for healthy root zones, enabling trees to better tolerate late season high temperatures,” the CWB said. Extensive snowpack also helped sustain the trees during the growing season. Rainfall, caused by atmospheric rivers in California, was intense from the first of the year through late March, affecting large areas of Southern California, the Central Coast of California and northern parts of the state.