In Pursuit of Organic Hazelnuts

Micah Elconin, Director of Eugene’s Table writes a regular column for the Register Guard that highlights his perspectives on regional F&B business.

More than 70,000 of the Willamette Valley’s farmland is planted with hazelnuts, and the number is expected to double by 2025. However, less than 1% of this acreage is organic, which seems odd, considering other Oregon crops post significant organic production. For example, organic blueberries currently make up more than 20% of all blueberry acreage in Oregon.

The Oregon Organic Hazelnut Cooperative (OOHC) formed in early 2017 to explore opportunities to expand the state’s organic hazelnut industry. Even the largest organic hazelnut producers in Oregon are incredibly small in comparison to conventional domestic producers, which is part of the reason why there are currently no dependable and cost-effective processing, storage or distribution solutions for domestic organic producers. Thus, small family farms invest substantial capacity to create and manage their own processes, adding significant costs to their operations, which are then passed on to consumers.