Out with the Old and In with the New….Filberts

I would just write everyday about how it’s still raining, but that gets old for all of us. So instead I thought I’d share about what we did on that one day that it didn’t rain…I know you all remember it a few weeks back. We planted new filbert trees! Actually the more accurate term would probably be replacement trees because the last few years we have stopped adding new acres of hazelnuts (often referred to as filberts) here on our farm and instead are removing older varieties and planting new baby trees.

Our older varieties are Barcelona and were planted back in 1990. This was before blight was really a big “thing” in our area and not something that we had to work very hard to control or manage. That has changed a lot in the past 30 years and with new tree development from Oregon State University we have newer varieties that are resistant to the blight that we are currently having to control in our older trees.

By controlling I mean the use of heavy pruning each year and also fungicide sprays multiple times per year. In turn the new varieties help in reducing labor costs and also the use of fungicides. It’s not quite a win win however because you’re taking down a tree that has been producing an income for you and replacing it with a tree that will take years (usually around 4) before it is producing enough crop to harvest. Meanwhile we are still caring for and nurturing that tree, which all costs money.

We have been slowing chipping away at our older orchards. This planting is only 13 acres and will start to get harvested in the year 2026 or 2027. The variety of tree is Polly O’s along with a handful of pollenizer varieties mixed in as well.

We are planning to wait for a few more years before we take out the final acreage of Barcelonas, they are still producing well and while they take a little more care, it economically makes sense to wait until a few of our newer trees are making some income before completely taking everything out. It’s always easy to make an excuse to leave trees in that are producing nuts because when the price is high you need all the nuts you can get, and when the price in low you need all the nuts you can get….see what happened there, there is no good time when looked at face value, but when you sit and calculate the costs, there comes a time when you just have to move forward with a new variety.

We have had a few more days of drying the past couple of weeks and we are slowly chipping away at getting our crops fertilized, planted, and weeds killed; but it’s been frustrating so far this year. Time will tell what this all means for all of our bottom line, until then we will keep chipping away hoping for more sunshine!

Two of the busiest days in farming

Farming is very centered around things that are out of our control; and I put weather very close if not at the top of that list. So it probably doesn’t surprise you that what makes a farming day busy is a direct correlation. Day 1: when it starts to rain. Day 2: when it finally dries out.

Day 1 is usually in the fall. We are waiting for rain to help water in chemical to keep our fields clean, we are planting in hopes for some good rains to give it a good start. We are working fields to get some moisture to help break up the clouds that don’t allow for a good seed bed. The day before it starts to rain in the fall is usually never long enough to get it all completely done; but that doesn’t mean you don’t work your tail off trying.

Day 2 hits in the late winter – early spring. the day that fields are finally dry enough from the wet patterns of winter weather. There is fertilizing, planting, spraying, spot spraying, strip spraying. The day the soil dries out enough to not get stuck, you wish you could go 100 different directions all at once.

The Triage of Fall Farming

The Triage of Spring Farming

So as spring break starts around here for our kids it looks like we also may be getting a nice stretch of drier weather to allow for possibly a window to get as much caught up as we can. Last week as another thunder shower poured down outside my office Matt and I were discussing how the most frustrating thing about it all is knowing that you’ve done all you can and yet the day it dries out we know that we are instantly behind. That’s farming for you!

Getting ready because it has to dry out someday!!

It’s been a wet and cold start to spring so far this year here in the Willamette Valley. But things will warm up and we will be harvesting before we know it. Time will tell if it’s going to be a late start to harvest though, I know there are a lot of very small sized crops out there, and a lot of that can be contributed to the fall rains that didn’t come until very late. It’s all connected, it’s all a cycle and we just have to keep rolling on getting as much done to prepare to be able to execute on those two busiest days of the year!

The Pirate Ship Sails….Farm Kid Style

We have an old boat. It was recovered years ago from the side of the road where someone had (so generously) left it near our property. My husband and I saw just “an old abandoned boat”, while our kids saw a pirate ship just needing some attention before she hit the high seas. Since I’m writing this blog we all know who won that debate.

So a short haul down the road, a lot of pressure washing, and this old gal has over the years been the center of many adventures. She’s caught salmon on the Pacific, fought off pirates near the Caribbean, and yachted through the Panama Canal. However with all these adventures under her belt, she had yet to actually get in any real water.

With all the rain this winter, the call to get her out on the sea was too much. Our kids saw that flooded bottom ground below the farm and it had to happen. So with waders on and a little prayer we launched that old pirate ship in the ditch below the farm. And to all our amazement the dang thing actually floated! Not one leak!

It was a great afternoon. Captain Hoot could have stayed all day with first mate Auggie, deck hand Dad, a few fair maidens (Millie & her cousin Addison) and boat dog Booker aboard.

The original idea was to finish out her first sail with a sleep out under the stars, but with temps still near freezing at night even an imagination as big as these farm kids have wasn’t enough to convince mom that was ok. Maybe next year…..

This flooded ditch below the farm holds a lot of adventurous memories for me as a kid and now they are all starting over with the next generation.

I love their imagination, I love how they make things happen and never think “well we can’t do that.” And I’m very certain that someday they will sleep out under the stars in their pirate ship; another adventure of many down the road that our farm kids get to dream up.