SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015
3 B
Almonds — not just from California anymore!
Florence-area farmer John Yager
harvested his first crop of hard
shell almonds in September
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
California produces the
lion’s share of almonds
grown in the United States,
more than any other state and
country in the world.
Local farmer John Yager
probably won’t make a dent
in those statistics, but in
early fall, he harvested his
first crop of locally grown
hard-shell almonds from his
35 two-year-old almond
trees.
“These hard-shell almonds
are different from regular
almonds in that they have a
stronger almond flavor,”
Yager explained.
He likened the intense fla-
vor to that of vanilla.
They were developed out-
side of the United States.
“The reason we can
grow these almonds in this
climate is that they are
highly disease resistant,”
Yager
said.
“Regular
almonds are very susceptible
to brown rot, which is a very
common disease of stone
fruit, like prunes and plumbs.
“A regular almond tree
will bear almost no almonds,
if it even lives in this cli-
mate,” he continued. “These
hard-shell almonds are very
disease resistant. You can
grow these here relatively
easy, as easy or easier than
growing a peach.”
The limited first-year har-
vest is because hard-shell
almond trees only produce
almonds from established
branches, not new growth.
Yager plans to expand his
almond orchard to 100 trees
by next year.
“Hard-shell almond trees
will reach maturity within
seven years,” Yager said. “At
maturity, they can produce 50
pounds per tree.”
Yager sees a fundamental
shift in Oregon orchards.
Historically
productive
Oregon orchard crops such as
prunes and walnuts have
shifted to California. But
now Yager sees a reversal in
that trend for hard-shell
almonds.
“I think in Oregon there is
a fledgling industry with
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PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
hard-shell almonds,” he said.
Yager and his wife Marie
have lived in the Florence
area since 1995.
They grow organic pro-
duce, nuts and fruit on their
171-acre farm, southeast of
Florence, that are sold at the
local farmers’ market and
through Real Food Co-op.
__________
Local farmer John Yager shows off his first
harvest of hard shell almonds from his 35
two-year-old almond trees. He harvested
the almonds in September.
Follow Jack on Twitter
@SNews_Jack. Email him at
jack@thesiuslawnews.com.
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Former Forest Service
chief to discuss memoir
The Siuslaw National
Forest on the Oregon coast
once saw some of the bitter-
est battles over old-growth
logging in the Pacific
Northwest.
But a shift towards ecolog-
ical restoration, guided by
the 1994 Northwest Forest
Plan and innovative leader-
ship, has made the Siuslaw a
model for conflict-free man-
agement.
Jim
Furnish,
former
Forest Supervisor in the
Siuslaw region, was an inte-
gral part of this leadership
and transition.
Hear from Furnish, who
will present excerpts from
his new memoir, “Towards a
Natural Forest: The Forest
Service in Transition,”
which explores the tumul-
tuous transition he experi-
enced within the federal
agency charged with balanc-
ing management on National
Forests across the country.
Currently a consulting
forester in the Washington
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of Florence
Teams are forming now…
You’re invited!
Want to learn more about forming a team or becoming a volunteer…
Monday, Dec. 14th @ 6 pm- Craig’s BBQ
1161 Hwy. 101 • Florence
Event/Team details:
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D.C. area, Furnish has 34
years of experience in the US
Forest Service, including as
Deputy Chief of the agency.
Also featured is the film
“Seeing the Forest” by film-
maker and journalist Alan
Honick, which tells the
story of how the Siuslaw
National Forest became a
pioneer in ecosystem restora-
tion and innovative manage-
ment; and how people from
all sides have come together
to create a sustainable future
for
the forest and
the
human community that
depends on it.
Furnish will be joined by
panelists Paul Engelmeyer
with the Audubon Society,
Chandra LeGue with Oregon
Wild, and Dave Eisler of the
Siuslaw Stewardship Group
to discuss the past, present,
and future of management of
public lands in the Siuslaw
National Forest.
The event takes place
Tuesday, Dec. 15, from 6 to 8
p.m., at City Lights Cinemas
on Highway 101 in Florence.
The evening is by present-
ed by the Siuslaw Watershed
Council
and
Siuslaw
Stewardship Group.
Admission is free.
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Sign-Up TODAY at: www.RelayForLife.org/FlorenceOR
Local contact: Sheryll Loftin, 541.997.7664, hecetabeachrvpark@yahoo.com
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM