UW Extension Specialist Jason Fischbach says the hazelnut industry is emerging in Wisconsin and it’s poised for success. Over the past few decades, the best plants have been selected and copied. It will take time to propagate those plants for the second phase of the hazelnut industry.
The global economic impact of tree nuts is estimated at $40 billion a year, according to Fischbach. But he says Wisconsin and Minnesota don’t participate in that economy. The role of the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative is to change that by domesticating hazelnuts, which are native to Wisconsin, and and improving varieties for the region.
The economics of growing hazelnuts are similar to that of fruit crops. Fischbach says it costs a few thousand dollars per acre in up-front investment. And it takes a few years to start growing the nuts.
We enter March with the 13th Annual Upper Midwest Hazelnut Growers Conference.
Are you registered? Today and tomorrow, growers and those interested in the hazelnut industry get together in La Crosse. Walk-ins are welcome! Learn more: http://www.midwesthazelnuts.org/hazelconf22.html
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