Transitioning to Organic Part II

by Bruce Kaser

My Dad used to say, “Solving one problem always seems to lead to new ones.” He also used to say, “If you want to be a successful farmer, you need to pay attention to what successful farmers do.”        

In the last newsletter, I wrote that it is hard to find a level spot on our farm. Soil erosion is a problem when a hazelnut orchard is put on slope if the orchard floor is maintained as bare ground in the conventional way.

For us, the most obvious solution to erosion was a permanent grass or ground cover planted in the tree rows. But we wondered if it created new problems during harvest time.

One of the reasons for maintaining the orchard floor as bare or close-to-bare ground relates to the ground harvesting equipment that is common in the industry, i.e., a self-propelled sweeper that is followed by a tractor-pulled harvester and a nut cart. In ideal, bare-ground conditions, this equipment picks up practically every nut on the ground. Does it work reasonably well in less-than-ideal short grass or a combination of grass and weeds? I suspect so, I have heard so, but I don’t really know. I followed Dad’s advice – and it led to a different solution.

First, I started watching what a nearby neighbor was doing.  

The neighbor also has hazelnut orchards in hill country and maintains pristine rows of creeper fescue in orchard tree rows, regularly flailed short, and harvested with a Monchiero “two-in-one” machine. According to the neighbor, the machine was picking nuts off the grass just fine.

I also knew that, unlike the small, terraced hazelnut orchards that I once saw in Sicily, northern Italy has a much larger hazelnut industry than what we have in Oregon – and it is highly advanced. So, I did something Dad couldn’t do – watch YouTube videos of Italian hazelnut operations – including the machinery they used, how they maintained their orchard floors, etc.

We wanted something a little smaller than the Monchiero machine, or a 3-machine train of tractor/harvester/nut cart, so that we would be pulling less total weight on a hillside if harvesting a late variety in the wet. We settled on a similar, but smaller, two-in-one harvester that we located out of Italy. It was a risk, but we’ll be going through our 4th harvest with it this year. It harvests through grass and weeds just fine, picking the nuts in very clean fashion:

Pratum Farm, Salem, OR

We must flail a lot, but we discontinued ground sprays in all our orchards from the time we decided to acquire the harvester – and the erosion problem seems to be solved – we also prune to prevent a dense, light-blocking tree canopy.

Transitioning to organic means discontinuing chemical sprays and fertilizers. In our case, a decision about equipment allowed us to discontinue ground sprays, all of which was driven by a need to solve an erosion problem. Solving that problem years ago then opened the door to considering a transition to certified organic.  

At that time, I started calculating the pound-per-pound cost of replacing our chemical fertilizer application with an organically approved fertilizer – and learned we were looking at spending at least 12 times the usual amount on fertilizer if we used nitrogen and other inputs the same way. 

Just as Dad said…. 

Read Part 1 in the February Issue

Continue Reading to Learn About:

-Transitioning to Organic II

-More About Our Live

Webinars

-2023 Organic Summer Tour

-Working Lands Program, for Regenerative Agriculture

-Transitioning to Organic Mentorship Program

(NW TOPPS)



-OOHC Advisory Committee

My Brother's Farm, Creswell, OR

OOHC Webinar Series - It’s LIVE, It’s Happening and It’s So Exciting! by Sue Chen

One of the silver linings from Covid was the ease of coming together via Zoom. We could now host live webinars and bring people together from everywhere… to engage, educate and excite. And, we did just that on February 23rd with the first OOHC Webinar titled, Why Go Organic? We had a jam-packed Zoom Room with a highly engaged group. Our incredible panelists, MaryClair Birkemeier Stehman with Meridian Orchards, Bruce Kaser of Pratum Farm, and Jed White of Cascade Foods, thoughtfully shared their expertise, experience, and knowledge on the topics of:

• Going Organic - the Transition, Timing, and Requirements 
• The Organic Hazelnut Market… what’s the demand and who are the customers?
• Tackling the Big 3: Weeds, Worms, and Suckering 

We also had a very engaging and informative Q and A session. The one hour seemed to fly by with a feeling of community, opportunity, and optimism. 



If you missed this Webinar, no worries! You can watch it here on our YouTube Channel

Ready for our next Webinar? Us too! 

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 31st from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm PST for our next LIVE OOHC Webinar. 

In this Webinar, we will take the exploration from Why Go Organic to How to Go Organic.

Our esteemed panelists from Oregon Tilth and OSU will share, inform and educate on the requirements and process for getting certified and explore cover cropping as a key organic management practice.

This webinar is free of charge and all are welcome. You just need to register with this link.

Going organic with our favorite nut is Happening and it is Exciting! We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming webinar.

Save the Date: August 25

2023 Organic Summer Tour

Stay tuned for more information about our Annual Summer Orchard Tour.



Photo: 2022 Tour at Avelino Farms in Jefferson, OR

Interested in learning about the OOHC Advisory Committee?

We are a group of volunteer hazelnut growers and industry professionals who are passionate about building a sustainable and thriving organic hazelnut community.

We meet monthly to plan the work of OOHC, share ideas, collaborate on projects, and connect with others in the organic industry.

If you want to learn more about the advisory committee, please message us. We would love to have your input, and help, in building a stronger organic hazelnut industry.

Together, we can build a strong and sustainable organic hazelnut community.

Steenson Family Orchards, Salem, OR

Tabling at NGS Winter Meeting

Raina W, Lori S, & Tanya M from Oregon Tilth

Here are some of the ways you can get involved:

• Share your knowledge and experience with other growers
• Participate in research and development projects
• Help to promote organic hazelnuts to consumers
• Advocate for policies that support sustainable agriculture

If you have special skills you'd like to share, we're here for it:

• Web design
• Art/graphic design skills
• Social media
• Grower outreach
• Research & education

These are just a few ideas for how you can help out without joining the committee. If you have other skills or ideas, please let us know. We would be happy to have your help!

Advisory Committee

Ben Larson

Bruce Kaser

Cassedea Ashley

Jed White

Lori Stole

MaryClair Birkemeier Stehman

Raina Wickstrom

Sue Chen