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Nut yield down, but quality is good |
Dry fall weather allows growers and processors a
good, not great, crop of hazelnuts in 2006 |
By David Sale, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail David at
dsale@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Crisp
fall weather has helped local growers harvest a bumper crop of
hazelnuts in Yamhill County.
“I love this kind of weather,” said Bland Herring, who tends 140
acres of hazelnut trees west of Newberg. “Just a little rain to
settle the dust, but no mud.”
Statewide, growers collected a record 41,000 tons of hazelnuts, a
50 percent increase from last year and a tie for the third-largest
crop in the history of the industry, according to the Oregon
Hazelnut Board.
But in the Newberg area, the harvest has not been quite so large,
according to Gerry Plante, controller for the Hazelnut Growers of
Oregon.
“I’ve heard from (processing) plant managers that the crop isn’t as
large as anticipated, but it’s still up about 10 percent from last
year,” he said, adding that growers had expected an additional 10 to
15 percent increase earlier in the season.
“The nuts aren’t as large as last year’s, size-wise, but they’ve
got a good flavor,” Plante said.
“The yield’s about average — but the quality is tremendous,”
Herring agreed. “There’s a lot less debris and moisture damage, and
the meat has a nice bright color.”
While the bulk of the harvest has been collected, some growers have
been conducting a second picking, according to processor Larry
Christensen.
“The larger growers started early due to the weather,” he said. “My
son has 600 acres of trees, and he got about a ton and a half per
acre the first time. Now he’s getting between 400 and 600 pounds per
acre on the second pick.”
Despite a second picking, yields aren’t quite as high as first
anticipated, Christensen said.
“The estimate was 41,000 tons, but we’re not getting that amount —
it seems closer to 37,000 or 38,000 tons,” he said. “But it’s a good
crop.” |
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From
Nov. 1,
2006, Newberg Graphic
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