SALEM, Ore. – Oregon filbert growers harvested 40 percent more hazelnuts in 2016 than they did the year before.
The state’s crop weighed in at 43,300 tons and outperformed the United States Department of Agriculture projection by 14 percent. That is a significant improvement over 2015, when the crop was 25 percent short of the USDA estimate.
Still, hazelnut growers say the uncertainty can make planning difficult. Farmer Garry Rodakowski of Vida said some people are using new strains resistant to the Eastern filbert blight, but it’s not clear yet what the yield of those plant varieties will be.
