Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Tag: Nik Wiman

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 Orchard Irrigation Trends & Considerations

    As Oregon hazelnut growers experience hotter, dryer summers, the industry is trending away from traditional dryland farming and installing irrigation systems as they plant new orchards. Watch this brief interview with OSU Hazelnut Extension Specialist Nik Wiman as he discusses the variety of irrigation options growers are adopting around the Willamette Valley and why.  Read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine. If you’re not currently receiving the print publication, subscribe for free at: https://malcolmmedia.com/subscribe/
    Please thank this video’s sponsor George Packing Company for their industry support.

  • Hazelnut Pest Update with Nik Wiman

    The Pacific Flatheaded Borer flight commenced today from our wood we have collected from grower orchards and our trial plots. Last week we found the first adult in dissections of infested trees, but this week they are chewing their way out.

    The first filbertworm moths of the season were captured in multiple locations on Tuesday night this week (05/28). For our Aurora/Canby location, based on the Alinazee (1983) model and using the Aurora Agrimet Station (arao) we only have 407 degree-days, and the earliest moth is not predicted to occur until 580 DD.

    Similarly in the McMinnville area, another place where moths were caught, I’m seeing less than 400 degree-days. I’m interested in your observations from the field.  Read more from Oregon State University Extension Advisor Nik Wiman in the upcoming July issue of Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

  • Organic Hazelnut Farms Showcased in Upcoming Tour

    Sustainability, Market Opportunities Concerns Drive Increase in Organic Hazelnuts

    Hazelnut growers looking for information and support for growing organically will have an opportunity to learn from experienced growers during a farm tour on August 15. The tour, hosted by Oregon Organic Hazelnuts cooperative, will showcase practices and tips from local farmers with certified organic and transitioning acreage.

    Oregon Organic Hazelnuts (OOH, formerly the Organic Hazelnut Growers Association) is an agricultural cooperative comprised of organic farmers and food producers that formed in 2017.

    “Our vision is to be the source of best practices in organic hazelnut production, through direct training and online resources. As part of our grower support focus area, this is our second tour that shares methods and lessons learned on effective production of organic hazelnuts in Oregon,” says Linda Perrine, owner of Honor Earth Farm and President of the OOH.

    The member farms in this year’s tour include the Lackner Family Farm in Scio, with 27 acres of certified organic and transitioning hazelnut orchards, and Cold Springs Farm in Lebanon, with 40 transitioning acres. The Lackner family will discuss their methods of cover cropping, filbert worm management, harvest and drift protection. Don Hatai of Cold Springs Farm will discuss lessons learned during transition, and organic considerations for irrigation, cover crops, and pest and fertility management. The tour is organized by the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP).

    Perrine will discuss the cooperative’s focus areas in marketing/promotion, grower support, and viable long-term processing. Nik Wiman of Oregon State University (OSU) will discuss recent research finding on organic approaches to filbert worm, cover crops, and fertility. Drew Katz of Oregon Tilth will cover organic rules, the certification process, and transition, and Northwest Farm Credit Services will cover Whole Farm Revenue Insurance and other programs offered by the USDA to protect specialty crops from loss.

    “We’re excited to see more hazelnut orchards transition to organic production,” says Sharon Selvaggio, healthy wildlife and water program director with the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides. “More and more, consumers want to know that their food is safe and their watersheds protected.”

    The tour will be held August 15, 2018 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, starting at the Cold Springs Farm in Scio. Advance registration is required at

    http://www.pesticide.org/organichazelnuts or 503-704-0327.

    The tour is funded in partnership by USDA, Risk Management Agency and USDA, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.

    Background:

    Oregon Organic Hazelnuts is a cooperative creating an equitable and healthy organic hazelnut industry. Our focus is to expand organic hazelnut production through marketing, grower education and processing development.

    The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) works to protect community and environmental health and inspire the use of ecologically sound solutions to reduce the use of pesticides.