Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Category: Hazelnuts

  • 2nd Summer of High Temperatures Takes Toll on Oregon Hazelnuts

    Temperatures across the West have reached some new record highs this year. No doubt, it has been an extra hot summer. While most specialty crops can handle the high temperatures of summer, they do have a breaking point, and hazelnut orchards across the Willamette Valley of Oregon have been impacted for the second year in a row by the persistent heat of the summer.  Watch this brief interview with Nik Wiman, Orchard Crops Extension Specialist at Oregon State University (OSU) as he shares what happens when hazelnuts reach their breaking point and how growers can help their trees get through it.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • A Few Things to Know Before Planting Hazelnuts in the Northwest

    Hazelnuts have become a pretty hot commodity in the Pacific Northwest.  If you ask most farmers in the area, though, that have converted from growing other crops like grass seed to growing hazelnut trees in recent years, there was quite a learning curve to adjust to.  Many hear that growing hazelnuts is less labor-intensive and more profitable than other crops in the region.  “Just plant your trees and watch them grow!” some may assume.  They soon find though that there is much more to growing hazelnuts than meets the eye. Watch this brief interview with Erica Chernoh from the Lane County Horticulture Extension at Oregon State University (OSU) as she shares a few things growers should know before planting the crop. Read monthly tips from OSU on growing hazelnuts in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine. Subscribe for free at: https://malcolmmedia.com/subscribe/

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • A More Convenient, Effective Monitoring Trap for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

    As brown marmorated stink bug becomes a bigger problem in the Pacific Northwest, hazelnut growers are searching for better tools to manage this invasive pest. Matthew Malcolm met with Edwin Harris from the Vaughn Walton Lab at Oregon State University, who is evaluating a promising new monitoring trap to help growers combat this pest. Watch this brief interview and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine. Don’t currently receive the magazine? Subscribe for free at: https://malcolmmedia.com/subscribe/
     
    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • Benefits of Native Cover Crops in Hazelnut Orchards

    Cover cropping down the middle of orchard rows is not a new practice for growers in the West, especially for Oregon hazelnut growers that have been finding creative ways to profit from harvesting temporary crops, while waiting for their trees to come into production. At a recent Nut Growers Society meeting, Pacific Nut Producer Editor Matthew Malcolm met with Marissa Lane-Massee, hazelnut grower and Master’s Student at the University of Oregon, who shared some interesting insights on the longterm benefits of cover-cropping Oregon hazelnut orchards with certain native plant combinations. Watch this brief interview and read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • New Research Reveals Hazelnut Growers are Missing the Mark on Filbertworm Control

    New research at Oregon State University (OSU) suggests that filbertworm, the #1 insect pest of the hazelnut industry, is causing a lot more early season damage than growers have detected or attributed in the past. At a recent Nut Growers Society meeting, Pacific Nut Producer Editor Matthew Malcolm met with OSU hazelnut extension experts Nik Wiman and Betsey Miller to discuss amending filbertworm monitoring and management recommendations to improve control of the pest and resulting crop yields. Watch this brief interview and read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • Nut Growers Society President Addresses New Eastern Filbert Blight Crisis

    In addition to good news of higher prices and a new hazelnut variety release from Oregon State University, hazelnut growers in attendance at the Nut Growers Society Winter Meeting were also discussing and expressing much concern over a new strain of Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB). Now spreading around the Willamette Valley of Oregon, this new strain appears to be no respecter of the long trusted EFB resistant varieties growers have been investing in. Pacific Nut Producer Editor Matthew Malcolm discussed this issue with the new Nut Growers Society President, Matt Miller, who happened to be among the first to discover this new EFB strain. Watch Miller’s interview and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • Hazelnut Grower Keeps Nuts Out of the Mud by Cover Cropping

    Like many tree nut commodities, hazelnuts are harvested from the orchard floor after dropping from the trees; however, Oregon growers tend to get more early fall rain events than their California nut grower neighbors. Harvest can get pretty muddy, adding extra processing costs to clean up the crop. The rains came again last year, impacting the later harvested varieties; however, harvest remained pretty clean for hazelnut grower Kent Burkholder, who believes cover cropping made all the difference. Watch his brief interview with Pacific Nut Producer Editor Matthew Malcolm, and read his full story HERE.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • New Root Borer Pest Invades Oregon Hazelnut Orchards

    As if growers didn’t have enough to worry about already, a certain root borer grub (when in large numbers) is beginning to wreak havoc below the surface of Oregon hazelnut orchards. At a recent Nut Growers Society meeting, Pacific Nut Producer Editor Matthew Malcolm met with Nik Wiman, Orchard Crops Extension Specialist at Oregon State University, to discuss the impact of the prionus californicus root borer and what growers can do about it. Watch this brief interview and read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • Hazelnut Market Improves, Oregon Growers Celebrate Higher Prices

    Pacific Northwest hazelnut growers at the recent Nut Growers Society Winter Meeting were happy with the news of improving market conditions and prices for their 2023 crop.  Watch this brief video with Terry Ross from the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association for the specifics, and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • Attention Hazelnut Growers: USDA to Measure Financial Well-being of Northwest Farmers

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend several months gathering information about farm economics from farmers and ranchers across the Pacific Northwest, as the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2023 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

    “ARMS is the only survey that measures the current financial well-being of producers and their households as a whole,” said Dennis Koong, Director of the NASS Northwest Region Office. “The data will help inform decisions on local and federal policies and programs that affect Northwest farms and farm families.”

    To obtain the most accurate data, NASS will reach out to nearly 40,000 producers nationwide, including almost 2,600 in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington between February and April 2024. The survey asks producers to provide in-depth information about their operating revenues, production costs, and household characteristics. The 2023 ARMS survey includes a version of the questionnaire focused on farm costs of production and expenditures for oat producers.

    “In February, our interviewers will begin reaching out to those farmers who have not yet responded,” said Koong. “We appreciate their time and are here to help them with the questionnaire so that their information will continue to support sound agricultural decision- making.”

    Information provided to NASS is kept confidential, as required by federal law. The agency only publishes data in aggregate form, ensuring that no individual respondent or operation can be identified.

    The expense data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on July 26, 2024. That report and others are available at nass.usda.gov/Publications. Additional ARMS data analysis and reports are available at ers.usda.gov/arms.