Tree nuts like hazelnuts and chestnuts are native to New York, but the industry has remained small. With Cornell's help, this cooperative of growers is working to change that.
Hazelnuts are native to New York state and eastern North America, yet the commercial market for these locally grown nuts has long remained limited.
With the help of Cornell AgriTech, the New York Tree Crops Alliance is working to change that.
The New York Tree Crops Alliance, formed in 2019, is a cooperative of 10 farmers focused on marketing and commercializing New York-grown hazelnuts, chestnuts and other tree nuts.
Jeff and Dawn Zarnowski have been planting and breeding hazelnuts for over 30 years at their farm, Z’s Nutty Ridge, in Cortland County. Selling seeds and seedlings have long been the bulk of their business, but thanks to a new manufacturing facility the alliance is opening in Cortland and a bevy of hazelnut products developed at the Cornell Food Venture Center (CFVC), they and other New York Tree Crops Alliance members will soon see their products on supermarket shelves.
Bred for success
The hazelnuts grown at Z’s Nutty Ridge and other alliance members are hybrids of American and European hazelnuts that combine the hardiness of American hazelnut with the yield and flavor of European hazelnut.
Jeff Zarnowski said he worked with the CFVC Pilot Plant to develop recipes and processes for roasting hazelnuts, pressing hazelnuts into oil, and milling the nuts into flour. Those products will soon be made at the alliance’s new processing facility in the Cortland Commerce Center, a multi-tenant industrial complex on the outskirts of Cortland that was formerly home to Smith Corona.
The New York Tree Crops Alliance worked with the New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech (CoE) to help set up the new facility. Zarnowski credited CoE Business Development Specialist Ed Maguire with visiting the new facility and offering guidance on the remodeling and equipment they needed for production, which saved the alliance money.
Source: cornell.edu
Photo Credit: Cornell University
Categories: New York, Business, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables, Equipment & Machinery