Ivan Schurter, left, and Pratum Cooperative agronomist Clinton Kuenzi check the health of arborvitae shrubs nearly ready to harvest for transplanting in landscapes across the Midwest and Atlantic Coast. > about 35 percent smaller than the traditional Barcelona variety, says Thompson, and are meant to drop their nuts, avoiding the need to shake trees for harvest. “That saves equipment costs and means we can do it all ourselves on the farm.” Planting occurs in October and November if soil moisture is sufficient. Seeded winter “Our challenge is to grow with innovation, knowledge and people.” — Doug Kuenzi will affect their production for life,” he says. The hazelnut plant is really a shrub trained to grow as a single-trunk tree. That means pruning suckers by hand for a few years. After that, a small tractor equipped with a boom sprayer and an electronic eye can spot and chemically defoliate unwanted growth at the base of each tree. “This system has helped us reduce chemical use by 25 percent and prevents tree damage,” says Thompson. Once the trees reach canopy, annual pruning encourages new growth and lets in sunlight. (Pratum Cooperative is something of an extended family affair, with several team members bearing the Kuenzi moniker — a common name in Oregon ag circles.) The goal is to export hazelnuts in the shell, which requires excellent quality and large kernels. Spring starts with a granular broadcast fertilizer. Later, the co-op team makes foliar applications of micronutrients, including boron, potassium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and manganese. Fungicide applications start at bud break and continue every two to four weeks until the end of the rainy season. Dropped nuts are swept into windrows, picked up by a harvester that removes debris and deposited into totes. Totes are lifted onto trucks and hauled to a processing plant, where they are washed, dried and sorted. Producers are often part owners of the processing plant. The Thompsons lease 75 percent of their acreage, so the decision to commit to a permanent crop like hazelnuts wasn’t easy, Thompson says. “We wanted to diversify our farm with a higher-value crop. We have faith the investment will pay off and we take care of every piece of land like it is our own.” Adding trees is just one change the family has made in the last decade. The farm had been invested heavily in grass seed production — until the 2008 recession hit. Housing starts and golf course updates were put on hold, which stalled grass seed demand. “It was the perfect storm in the worst way possible,” says Thompson. “Fortunately, wheat demand was strong, so we multiplied “We wanted to diversify our farm with a higher-value crop.” — Jay Thompson our wheat acres.” As grass seed demand recovered, they switched to a rotation of grass seed (perennial ryegrass, turf-type tall fescue and fine fescue), crimson clover and winter wheat. Thompson was elected to the National Ranking of Oregon Production Rank Crop % of U.S. Production #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 #1 Source: U.S. Census of Agriculture, 2012; U.S. Census of Horticulture, 2014 Watching Quality Thompson says the Pratum Co-op team has become like another employee of the farm, providing crop protection services, foliar fertilizer and fuel. “We bounce ideas off each other to save time. Our agronomist, Clinton Kuenzi, knows our goals and what’s happening in the season. He periodically tours the farm and advises us on what to do.” wheat provides ground cover for moisture retention and weed control. The Thompsons installed irrigation lines to push water to young trees. “The tree’s future is determined at the start. If they are stressed or weak, that 14 SPRING 2019 CHSINC.COM