Posts by Bryan Mitchell57

Nicholas Sanchez3 said:Ever actually tried that stuff? Total disaster. Honestly, I’m not even sure it’ll ever catch on here in the States. It doesn't deserve the hype anyway—the taste is straight-up garbage, like you're chewing on sawdust. Absolute trash.

Look, I've had them plenty of times, and honestly? I actually prefer them over those local walnuts we get around here. They aren't nearly as bitter. Are you sure you were eating those and not something else? Because saying they taste like sawdust is just... weird.🙂

Elizabeth Thomas22 said:I suppose I should weigh in here as well..
While I am only twenty-one, my family has always been deeply involved in every aspect of this industry..

We supply hazelnuts to local bakeries, though our volume stays modest at around two or three hundred units... yet those move quite steadily..
However, we also managed two thousand blackberry bushes because I’ve noticed there is a genuine demand for them..

Those plants are incredibly temperamental and require constant attention; I remember one seedling costing roughly $6.75 when we sourced them from an agricultural center near Chicago a few years back..
At one point, we were producing a blackberry wine that actually took third place for quality at a major trade fair in Los Angeles..
But finding a market for it proved impossible. No matter how much we advertised, the moment you mention that a 0.7 dl serving comes in a standard with proper tax stamps and all the necessary $17 the interest just evaporates... which is why we eventually had to shut down our winery operations..

Age is irrelevant. What matters is having the grit and the drive. I’m 21 myself, and my old man started planting walnuts and hazelnuts when I was six, and even then I was out there trekking through the hills with him 🙂
I honestly think pecans are going to be the big thing in the future—they're selling like crazy over here in the USA...

slygull92 said:A good number of you here seem to be growing walnuts and hazelnuts...
What I’m really curious about is who exactly you're selling your harvests to?
Do you tend to sell directly to the market on your own, or are you part of any cooperatives or local farmer associations? Are we talking farmers' markets, or do you mostly deal with bulk buyers from big-box retailers or processing plants?
I’ve been seriously considering getting into hazelnut farming myself, but I'm wondering—what’s the absolute minimum acreage required to make this actually worth the effort?
And if someone were starting with just a small plot, how on earth would they move those quantities, and to whom?
Does anyone happen to have an investment plan or some kind of breakdown for setting up roughly two and a half acres of hazelnuts?

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Hey. I'm not even sure many people here are actually growing walnuts or hazelnuts. Maybe they *want* to, but they aren't really doing it because there's way too much work involved. It’s not like what people say, where you just plant them and wait for them to produce. 🙂 I know from experience.

As far as specific cooperatives here in the States, I haven't heard of any, but I've read they have them in Europe and abroad. I think the biggest one is probably in the US, though that's mainly for pecans.

Hazelnuts can be profitable, but like anything else, it only makes sense if you're planting at scale. I've heard that companies like Hershey's and Kraft Heinz buy up hazelnuts, but they won't even sit down at the negotiating table unless you have at least 500 kg. I assume other chocolate manufacturers in cities like Chicago or similar places also buy them, but you've got to give them a price they can actually work with.

As for government subsidies, I wouldn't know. I think some previous posts mentioned how much you get per acre, but it depends on which grant you're looking at—the one for starting the orchard or the annual ones.

ulicar said:LOOK, I've been planting walnut orchards for a long time now—totaling about 20 acres. Everyone keeps claiming the subsidy is $26667 per acre, but that’s just not how it works (just go back and read the whole thread from the start). If that were true, 20 x $80,000 would be $218667 🙏. That's the kind of cash I was expecting, but it didn't happen. The payout is way, way smaller. It's not like the government is just handing out free money like crazy. In fact, the government—specifically the inspectors—comes out to check on you every single year (at least they do for me) to inspect the groves, make sure everything is orderly, and check all the paperwork. The government offers help, sure, but they are incredibly strict if you try to cut corners or play games...😈.
Saplings run anywhere from $70 to $33 and you really have to be careful about which variety you pick depending on which part of the US you're in. Those textbooks? They're okay for a basic foundation, but they don't tell you anything specific. Real-world experience tells a different story. People plant walnuts, sell them after two years, and then they die off, and suddenly everyone's asking why they withered away (you need actual hands-on practice to understand that stuff).

Hey everyone.
Can you tell me where exactly you planted those walnuts? Like, what part of the US are we talking about?
My dad and I actually started planting about 15 years ago too, and we've got quite a setup going now.
It's honestly great to see more people getting into this business.