Nuts for Hazelnuts

Jim Chamberlin

Sep 25

6 min read

I often question my sanity when contemplating why and how I farm. At Island Lake Farm, there are some foods we raise as a business where we track profit. If it doesn’t pay, we need to change how we raise it, or stop altogether. For other things we grow, tracking the numbers is just too scary. One of those is hybrid hazelnuts.

Hybrid hazelnuts are, in most cases, a cross between the American Hazelnut ( Corylus americana) and the Common Hazelnut (Corylus avellana). Both of these plant species have broad native ranges and have a long history of use by indigenous people for food. One site in Scotland found a midden pit with hundreds of thousands of burnt hazelnut shells dating back 8,000 years.

Hybrid hazelnuts at Island Lake Farm, featuring a hood. Photo by Jim Chamberlin.

The Latin word Corylus comes from the Ancient Greek word kórys (korys), meaning "helmet" or "hood." The Corylus genus grows in the northern hemisphere and includes 14-18 species world wide. Several species are cultivated at a commercial scale, with 70% grown in Turkey, followed by Italy. The United States is the third largest producer, with 99% of hazelnut production is in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Good for You and Good for the Planet

Hazelnuts are a versatile product, often used in baked goods and candies. They are also eaten roasted as a snack, or ground into nut butter. Hazelnuts are high in oil content with three times more vitamin E and half the saturated fat of olive oil, while retaining a high smoke point temperature, making it great for cooking and frying.

Hybrid hazelnut bush with wasp next at Island Lake Farm. Photo by Jim Chamberlin.

Hazelnuts are a long-lived genus, with some species that can live for hundreds of years when regularly pruned or completely cut to the ground. They provide habitat and food for dozens of species of wildlife, including serving as a host plant for over 130 species of moths and butterflies. And, as a perennial woody plant, they keep roots in the ground all year long, promoting soil health, protecting water quality, and sequestering carbon where it’s beneficial, in the ground.

Why “Hybrid” Hazels

When I bring up hazelnuts as a crop, I often hear, “Oh, we picked those as a kid,” or “We have those near our house, but I can never beat the critters to them,” as if to say “we tried that and it didn’t work,” I then explain that these aren’t your typical American hazelnuts. Common filberts are much larger than American hazelnuts, of which these folks are referring to, with a thinner shell and greater nut production. However, Common filberts aren’t hardy this far north, and they are susceptible to American hazelnut blight which kills them to the ground. The American hazelnut is largely resistant to this blight, and by crossing the two species, researchers and farmers are working to produce plants that have the hardiness and disease resistance of our native hazelnut, with the nut size and productivity of the filbert.

Not a New Effort

During the 1940s and 50s research stagnated, except for a few private breeders. In the 1970s and 80s interest began to grow, with private breeders PhilL Rutter and Mark Shepard planting out thousands of experimental plants. During that time the Arbor Day Foundation began to research hazelnuts, and in the 1990s several Universities began research programs, including the University of Minnesota and our own Central Lakes College. I’ve observed dramatic improvements in the genetics of hybrid hazelnuts in the 25 years we’ve been growing them.

The first hazelnut cultivar, “Rush”, was released in 1917 by J.F. Jones in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Cornell and Rutgers University did substantial work in the 1930s after publication of the then popular book Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture, by J Russell Smith. The 1937 USDA Year Book of Agriculture has 10 pages dedicated to hazelnuts as an agricultural crop.

Hazelnuts as a Crop

"Current" cultivars from the 1937 USDA Year Book of Agriculture

The top hazelnut genotypes are producing more that 1,000 pounds of shelled kernels per acre, with the potential to generate $2500 per acre in net income, once established. However, the upfront establishment cost is high, approximately $7000 per acre, with an 8-year return on investment.

Sourcing quality plants, harvesting, processing and marketing are all issues facing hazelnut growers, but researchers and growers are working to overcome these issues.

Efforts to propagate by rooted cutting or tissue culture have had limited success, and because these are multistemmed shrubs, grafting onto a root stock isn’t an option. Without a low cost efficient way to vegetatively propagate the highly productive cultivars, consistent yield, ripening, and nut quality will not be possible. These characteristics are needed to move to a mechanized harvest system that can compete in the marketplace.

Over-the row-blueberry harvesters work well to harvest hazelnuts with only small modifications. Efforts to adapt these to also husk them during the harvest process would improve efficiency. There are a couple facilities that will shell hazelnuts for a fee, and many hobby growers have devised their own processing equipment. Hazel Heart Farms is a partnership-based LLC that works to develop processing and marketing opportunities for hazelnut growers. They will buy in-shell nuts, or process nuts for members for a fee.

Two decades, hundreds of plants, and a container of moldy nuts…

We planted our first hazelnuts around 2000. I bought 50 plants from Phil Rutter. All but one have died. I didn’t plant any again until 2008, when we planted 50 from Mark Shepard. I believe we still have a dozen or so of those. Those early plantings struggled to stay alive, yet alone thrive and produce.

We have planted several hundred since 2016 when we got a deal on some plants from another grower who had extra plants that had been healed in (the roots buried in wood chips) for a season and the owners were just looking to move them. Those plants, despite the abuse of being healed in, had decent survival, and one of them set a nut cluster the first year we planted it. Whether it is improved genetics, a warming climate, or a combination of the two, the hybrid plants we buy now don’t just survive, they are vigorous and thrive once they get past the first couple of years of establishment.

Six-year old hybrid hazelnut plants at Island Lake Farm. They will grow to 8-12' when mature. Photo by Jim Chamberlin.

We now have over 300 plants, many of them beginning to produce. Last year was our first year with a harvestable crop, with a total of 20 pounds of in-shell nuts. I shelled most of them by hand and put them in a tupperware container, where they promptly molded. So is the learning curve of growing tree crops, as with most agricultural crops.

Why Hazelnuts Are in Our Farm Portfolio

There is much to learn when growing, processing, and selling food. My few pounds of hard-earned hazelnuts being lost to mold was disheartening, but nonetheless a learning experience, and a mistake I won’t likely make again. We will continue to expand our agroforestry plantings at Island Lake Farm, despite the long return on investment. The trees and shrubs will mature and yield more fruit and nuts. We will ride the learning curve of each, even if that means leaving the fruits of our labor to wildlife. Maybe we do this because we’re a little bit insane, or just maybe we do it because we believe it’s the right thing to do.

At left, unshelled hybrid hazelnuts and shelled at right. Photo by Jim Chamberlin.

Plant a Tree, or Buy an Agroforestry Product

Learn more about hazelnuts and agroforestry on the Happy Dancing Turtle website. If you garden, farm, or own a city lot, consider planting woody crops as an agroforestry practice. Connect with your local Soil and Water Conservation District for technical and possible financial support. Ask elected officials to support agroforestry programs such as the National Center for Agroforestry, and University initiatives such as Forever Green, that work to research perennial crops and work to develop markets to support them. If you eat, look for local agroforestry crops in season near you. Some common examples are maple syrup and log-grown mushrooms. Other crops typically grown in agroforestry systems include; serviceberry, currents, elderberry, aronia berry, asparagus, and woody ornamental plants such as diamond willow and red osier dogwood.