We salute the generations of men and women who came before us, and we honor their hard work, their vision and the legacy they left us. Over the years, we have farmed a variety of crops, starting with rice and including almonds, walnuts and most recently, olives. Although we are now primarily growers and processors of walnuts, we continue to farm these other crops around Glenn County. As more and more family members join Carriere Family Farms, we remain true to our farming heritage and we pass down our cherished values and traditions to the younger generations.
1890
In search of farm work in Glenn County, Albini Carriere arrives in Northern California from Canada. He soon finds work as a ranch hand on the Spooner Ranch.
1893
Albini marries Rosanna Spooner on November 15, 1893. They move to a small farm near the Sacramento River and live the lives of typical farm laborers. They have five children: Anna, Wilfred, Isadore, Victor and Edmond.
1922
Wilfred Carriere, known as “Papa” in his later years, marries Martha Maissonave on November 18, 1922. They have three children: Mildred, Herbert and Richard.
1930
Wilfred purchases several hundred acres of potential rice land from Bank of America. He starts prepping the rough land for rice and row crops. Papa establishes a reputation for being a hardworking, responsible farmer. During the depression thousands of acres of land are turned over to irrigation districts and banks because the owners cannot pay the taxes. Rice growing is just being established in the Sacramento Valley at this time. Papa struggles just to make ends meet and doubts whether farming is worth it. Because of his love for farming he starts developing a rice operation. With the backing of Bank of America he buys 200 acres of potential rice ground and begins to clear it to make rice paddies.
1960
1963
A milestone in the history of Carriere Family Farms, Herb buys a 30-acre walnut orchard along the Sacramento River near his parents’ home in December 1963. He works to develop the first walnut orchards despite his Papa’s skepticism at farming this new crop.
1967
Herb and Dick form Carriere Brothers to combine the established rice and walnut operations. Dick is put in charge of the rice operation and Herb is in charge of the walnut division. Although Papa officially retired in 1967, he never missed a day of work until the day he passed away in 1999 at 100 years old!
1974
Every year the company grows stronger. Another major expansion comes in 1974 when Carriere Brothers utilizes one of the barns on the property to further expand and vertically integrate the walnut operation by building a walnut huller and dehydrator.
1986
A partnership was formed with Borges S.A. of Spain from 1986 through 2020 to manage their orchards located in Butte City, California. Pictured left to right in 1986, the owners of Borges S.A., Antonio, Ramon, and Jose Pont. The Carriere and Pont families remain lifelong friends.
1990-2000
2000
Another successful partnership with Borges of California resulted in our inshell processing plant in Glenn. After a fruitful, 20+ year partnership, Carriere had the opportunity to purchase the business from Borges and grow their inshell business.
2006
Carriere Family Farms opens its walnut shelling facility.
2010
We move from our old shop (constructed in the 50s by Wilfred Carriere) to a new shop, built to handle big equipment and fabricate machinery for the farm..
2013
2015
2022
In September 2022, we opened our new 277,520 square foot processing facility, transforming our capacity and offering our growers and customers new opportunities as we look to the future.
