An industry on the rise: Nut production in the UK

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into nut growing on their farm. Henrietta Szathmary reports

The up-and-coming nut sector represents a major opportunity for UK farmers to create an additional income stream, but also poses some challenges, according to writer and journalist Kate Hues, who opened the session at the Oxford Real Farming Conference in early January.

Raising nut trees in a silvopasture system

A newcomer to the industry, Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford Organic Farmers shared his experiences diversifying into nut growing on his organic vegetable farm in south Devon.

The initial plantation consisted of 1,500 hazel and 400 walnut trees, which were established on a 30% slope. However, Guy wouldn’t recommend planting trees on a slope steeper than 25% due to the di culties in mechanising the process.

Once the trees were in the ground, he mulched the top with compost from his vegetable enterprise, which resulted in very good weed suppression in the rst year, Guy said. He suggested using woodchip as mulch if possible, saying it’s the best material to use with nut trees.

The walnut and chestnut trees on Riverford Farm have been raised as part of a silvopasture system, integrating cattle that graze the grass crop underneath the trees. The system allows the trees to be spaced much wider than in more intensive systems, which bene ts long-term tree health and productivity, Guy explained.

To protect the young trees and support establishment, spiral guards and electric fencing are used, so the animals can graze right into the base of the trees. Of the 400 walnuts originally planted, 398 are still alive today, which shows the system is working really well, he said.

Nut growing at Kent’s historic Roughway Farm

Tom Cannon provided delegates with an insight into managing a National Collection of nut trees spanning 50 di erent varieties on his family farm in Kent.

Tom explained there is a long history of cobnut production in Kent, which is a cultivated variety of hazelnut. Over time, the ‘Kentish cobnut’ even became a variety in its own right. Some of the ‘plats’ (short for cobnut plantation) in the area are over a hundred years old and are considered part of the region’s rural mosaic.

The Kentish Cobnut Association, of which Tom is treasurer, is the leading organisational body for the UK hazelnut industry. Membership is priced at £15/year and grants growers access to meetings, events, workshops, as well as a wealth of resources.

At Roughway Farm (www.roughwayfarm.co.uk), the Cannons grow three main cobnut varieties: Gunslebert, Ennis and Kent. Other varieties grown at the farm include Butler, Cannon Ball, Cosford, White Filbert, Red Filbert, and also various French and German varieties.

Tom explained the trees are quite tightly spaced at around 2.5–3m, but are kept small with regular pruning. By keeping the trees under 6ft tall, harvesters can pick fruit without using ladders.

The majority of cobnuts planted in the last 50 years are all single stem at Roughway Farm, with multi-stem plots boasting a ripe age of 100–150 years. There are also cobnuts found in between plum trees lately, so they can bene t from the existing irrigation system in the summer.

Guards are placed on young trees for the rst few years and removed once they are well established in year ve. According to Tom, insects are a real issue with hazel establishment, and some species like the stink bug can also impact yield.

While there are no major disease challenges a ecting hazelnut growing at present, he noted powdery mildew is moving across Europe and may soon a ect British growers. For those wanting to learn more about pests and diseases in hazelnuts, he recommended the Oregon State University’s link (https://extension.oregonstate.edu/cropproduction/nuts) has a wealth of information.

Harvest is all manual and therefore quite labour-intensive at Roughway Farm. However, the business bene ts from being a mixed crop farm with sta already available picking berries, cherries, apples and plums throughout the season.

Starting in late August, the nuts are picked and put straight into cold storage to preserve their high moisture content. Most of the produce is intended for fresh eating and are packaged green to go on the shelves of Waitrose and Morrisons.

Planning ahead is key for a successful nut enterprise

Lastly, walnut and sheep farmer Tom Tame from south Warwickshire shared his expertise and highlighted practical considerations for aspiring walnut growers.

Tom Tame’s main orchard consists of 440 nut trees, including over 20 pecans and hickories, spaced at 10–12m. The walnuts are grown in a silvopasture system with sheep grazing the understorey, hence the farm gains ‘two crops for the price of one’.

The majority of harvested nuts are sold as dry walnuts, Tom explained, and some are pressed for oil. Generally, a walnut is 32–38mm diameter and contains up to 80% oil. After pressing, around 55% of oil is recovered, meaning one kilogram of kernel will produce about half a litre of oil, he said.

Approximately 60 di erent varieties of walnut are grown in the orchard, most of which were acquired commercially, and some are being trialled. Young trees are tted with a mesh to provide protection from livestock until they reach a height of at least 2.5m.

The trees are also staked as walnut grows very fast – up to 1.5m/year, Tom continued, which can endanger the young tree in strong winds. The guards come o the trees at eight years old, after which the bark is protected with a plastic mesh.

Tom warned that planting seedlings will never produce a viable crop, and grafted cultivars are needed for commercial production. He advised growers to think carefully about cultivar choice and consider:

• Spacing

• Local microclimate

• Bud break times

• Flowering times – pollination

• End product – whole nut or shelled/oil.

Regarding irrigation, he uses a low-pressure pipe from a cattle trough to supply trees with additional water for good establishment, longterm health and productivity.

“For us, it’s the only way. If we didn’t do it, we would end up with half an orchard that wasn’t productive,” Tom said, adding that trees that are not well established in the rst ve years are never going to produce good crop.

While the majority of nuts will fall when they are ready for harvest in the UK climate, the trees still need shaking to complete the process, Tom explained. Harvesting is done mechanically at the farm using an Italian chestnut/walnut harvester, which can pick up 2–3 tonnes of nuts a day.

Due to their high oil content, walnuts can spoil quickly if left on the wet ground and should be harvested within 24–36 hours of falling.

Unwashed nuts can’t be cracked for their kernels as there is a risk of contamination, he added. Once clean, the nuts go on to be dried before being placed into storage as whole nuts or proceeding to the cracking and shelling line.

“We generally crack and shell to press from nuts; we do sell some kernel but it’s too labour intensive and adds cost in. Walnut oil is the only real reason we crack,” Tom explained.

He said walnut trees can crop 20–40kg each at 15 years of age in the right climate, provided they’re irrigated and given a good start. The farm sells around two tonnes of fresh walnut at £10/ kg each year in passing trade, and could sell a lot more with just a bit of advertising due to the large market, Tom added.

He believes the warmer climate is going to boost nut production in the UK, although trees will require more irrigation going forward.

Overall, with Britain slowly moving into the commercial walnut growing zone, he says UK growers will soon be able to capitalise on heavier cropping.

However, to take a walnut enterprise to success, Tom Tame said growers must plan ahead and think about their end product, whether they want to harvest mechanically or manually, and if they want to press for oil.

Once the cobnuts are ready, the pickers (locally known as nutters) move through the rows and pick the nuts which are then loaded into trays

Roughway Farm's team collect the cobnut trays on an original British-made Massey Ferguson –ideal for tting between the narrow rowset young walnut tree tted with mesh to protect it from grazing livestock. For more information visit www.warwickshirewalnuts.co.uk