Hazelnuts Thrive On North Dakota Farm

Hazelnuts Thrive On North Dakota Farm CROPS New Techniques Daniel Johnson is growing bigger and better hazelnuts in North Dakota As a result his business is growing too The only commercial hazelnut grower in the state he has spent the past 40 years improving his plants His nuts have come a long way since he picked up some wild ones in Roseau County Minn in 1978 “I asked what the little fuzzy balls were and was told they were wild hazelnuts ” recalls Johnson “I brought them home and planted them When I started I couldn’t sell any The past 2 years I’ve had no problem selling a couple hundred plants ” In 1998 he crossed his hazelnuts with some from Badgersett Farm Vol 26 No 6 Still later he added genetics from other hazelnut breeders including Norman Erickson Vol 33 No 5 Progress wasn’t easy notes Johnson “We have heavy clay soil with a high pH ” says Johnson “Our original plants didn’t do well but now we have 4 varieties that really perform ” Johnson sells most of his hazelnuts in North Dakota He has sold to a couple of people in Minnesota and Wisconsin willing to make the drive and pick up 100 at a time “About 90 percent of my customers have heard about hazelnuts by word of mouth and want to grow some for their own use in their backyard ” says Johnson “I’ve also given some to North Dakota State University to try at their Carrington N Dak research farm ” Johnson cites pests as his biggest challenge Squirrels usually start on the nuts at the end of August Johnson applies hot pepper spray to discourage them “This past year they started eating them in June ” says Johnson “Weevils are another pest as well as blue jays raccoons and turkeys They all like hazelnuts ” This past winter he had mice girdle some bushes while rabbits came in and mowed back quite a few “We had 3 ft of snow and the rabbits ate the new wood that flowers in the spring on a bunch of 4-year-old plants ” says Johnson “They took off everything above the snow line ” Johnson concentrates on plant sales since selling the hazelnut meats or hazelnut products requires a certified kitchen “People want cracked nuts not nuts in the shell ” he says He suggests they are missing out on a good thing noting that his wife uses them in everything from ice cream and granola to cookies a homemade nut spread and candy Johnson sells nuts for seed at $13 per pound Seedlings are priced according to their age with 6 to 8-in yearlings selling for $5 each Two-year-olds sell for $10 and 3-year-olds sell for $15 “Most hazelnuts start producing at 3 to 4 years and will produce 2 lbs of nuts by age 5 ” says Johnson “They increase in production to 20 to 25 lbs at about 20 years of age and then start backing off ” Johnson plans to start about 350 plants this year and set out about 80 one-year-old plants “I have cloned plants that are one-year-old and will produce nuts next year They are priced at $35 ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Daniel Johnson 7813 Sunset Dr Horace N Dak 58047 ph 701 361-8581; riverbendhazelnuts@bmail com; https://www facebook com/riverbendhazelnuts/

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.