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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2017)
April 14, 2017 CapitalPress.com 3 Chapin family grows, dries hazelnuts Bruce Chapin started farm- ing when he got out of college in 1973. He’s the third gener- ation on the Willamette Valley farm near Salem, Ore. His father, Jack, planted a cherry orchard in 1960 and Bruce and Jack planted their first 12 acres of hazelnuts in 1969. In the ensuing years, more orchards were planted. Today he farms 100 acres of cherries and 500 acres of hazelnuts with his son Austin Chapin and his son- in-law Matt Schuster, who are co-owners of Chapin Or- chards LLC and Chapin De- hydrating LLC. Early on, Bruce also started a hazelnut nursery to reduce the cost of establishing new orchards. Through the years, the nursery has expanded be- yond what is solely needed for his farm. The nursery’s moth- er trees produced so well this season that Chapin Orchards has a surplus of Jefferson ha- zelnut trees, a variety that has high resistance to eastern fil- bert blight. Many of their first hazel- nuts were the Barcelona vari- ety. Later they planted a lot of the Ennis variety. “Ennis was a very beauti- Brenna Wiegand/For the Capital Press Bruce Chapin prepares for maintenance on his hazelnut cleaner. During harvest the cleaning and drying plant handles five trac- tor-trailer loads of nuts per day. ful, large nut and went into a special market that resulted in premium prices,” Bruce Chapin said, “but when the eastern filbert blight moved into the valley we found it very hard to keep the Ennis orchards alive. The old Barcelona va- riety is also susceptible to the disease but not as bad as the En- nis,” Chapin said. “I’ve lost all my Ennis in the Salem area but I believe I can raise a Barcelona indefinitely with an intensive spray and pruning program.” During 1993-94, seeing that the blight was coming from the north, Chapin planted hazelnuts in Dever-Conner, near Albany, 30 miles south of his home farm, giving him a six-year re- prieve from when the disease hit the Salem area. “I’ve got a very nice-look- ing Ennis orchard down there but every year the blight gets a little worse,” Chapin said. “The disease is here to stay; our best defense is to keep planting dis- ease-resistant varieties, but re- placing orchards is a very slow and expensive process.” Hazelnuts start yield- ing a respectable crop after seven years, but full pro- duction isn’t reached until after 12 to 14 years. “In the filbert industry, everything we do requires a long-term perspective and figuring out ways to make it better for the next genera- tion,” Chapin said. “We are very thankful for the forward thinking at (Oregon State Uni- versity) in starting a hazelnut breeding program. Without the resistant varieties recently developed our industry would be in a rapid decline rather than the growing, vibrant in- dustry it is today.” To further their involve- ment in the industry, the farm set up a cleaning and drying station in 1987 and installed a much larger one CALL Oregon Varmint Control three years ago, going into business as Chapin Dehy- drating. They now clean and dry nuts for more than 40 growers, who sell to North- west Hazelnut and George Packing. During harvest, they clean and dry about five tractor-trailer loads a day. Besides working with his son and son-in-law Bruce en- joys working with his church and has six grandkids grow- ing up on the farm to pass his knowledge on to. “Life doesn’t get much better than that,” he said. Brenna Wiegand/For the Capital Press Bruce Chapin separates bundles of hazelnut trees at his Salem nursery. Chapin Farms grows the trees for their own orchards and those of others. We Offer Great Customer Service and Data Quality Turn around time: 7 to 10 business days Rush Analysis Possible 971•221•2813 • ISO 17025 Accredited • MRL & Global GAP Testing • Licensed Pesticide Consultant in OR. SERVING THE PORTLAND TO EUGENE, OREGON AREA oregonvarmintcontrol.com Locally Owned - Portland, OR. • 503-641-0500 Email: info@synpestlab.com • synpestlab.com ONV17-1/#T1D For the Capital Press ONV17-2/#T1D By BRENNA WIEGAND 100% Natural Organic Fertilizer 4-3-2 Klopfenstein Ag Service Environmentally Friendly High Performance - Low Impact Gradual & Steady Release of Micronutrients Convenient pellet or granule form for even broadcasting Perfect for turf, vegetable or flower gardens, shrubs & trees 50# pellets or 40# granules - $12.00 503-932-0766 • Silverton, OR • klopfensteinag.com CALL FOR PALLET OR BULK PRICING DISCOUNTS D. Stutzman Farms ONV17-4/#T3D • Used Hazelnut Equipment Sales • Custom Farming & Harvesting Organic Materials Review Institute™ P.O. Box 307 • Canby, OR 97013 888-877-7665 ONV17-4/#7
