New Article on "Resilience.org" -

In case you haven't caught up with all your Internet reading yet; you may like to know that the website "Resilience.org" has been gaining a lot of traction.  It's a news and information site; very well edited, and reaching a lot of folks.

And, today, we're featured, in a great and broad reaching article by Dan Allen - who made the time to meet with us while we were at MIT - even if only for a few minutes.  Short as the time was- we had a trunk-full of solid arguments to show him.  Take a look; he's done a great job.

More wind; more good press-

We have a new aspect to the chestnut harvest: the Armor Warning Flag is flying today.

If you have to be among the chestnut trees, for harvest or any other reason- you really better be wearing armor; head, face, shoulders, legs, feet and hands. The trees are throwing bombs, all over.

The high winds are not funny for us, at all; particularly combined with this record hot spell; it's making the chestnuts ripen all at once, drop fast, messily, with leaves and burrs hiding them, and subject to rapid drying (which is NOT good for chestnuts) from the wind and hot sun.

So, we're trying to pick up nuts working just on the north sides of the trees; away from their target areas, today. Can't afford to just not pick them up; we need them for all the reasons there are.

The good press bit: today, Oct. 7, the Rochester Post Bulletin is running two stories on neohybrid hazels, that are nicely complementary. Take a look- if you go on line, you'll need a subscription to see the entire article. Or- pick up a copy of the newspaper, if you're anywhere in the region here.

http://postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1471083

http://postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1471090

Hazel Machine Harvest Press Release

This is the official press release we're sending out- if YOU would like to send it on; please do! The photos included here on the blog MAY be good enough for publication; but I never really know what Blogger will do with the pics next. If they're not; email us; and we'll email you publication quality files.

Press Release - 9/20/2011 - For Immediate Release

Attention: TV, Print, Electronic, & Radio

Badgersett Research Corporation: 18606 Deer Rd, Canton, MN USA 55922

phone (888) 557-4211 email: philip.rutter@badgersett.com web: badgersett.com

FIRST MINNESOTA MACHINE HARVEST OF NEW CROP - Sep 22nd

Hybrid Bush Hazels Can Out-Produce Soybeans

keywords: Sustainable Agriculture, Hazelnuts, Soybean Replacement, Machinable Crop,

The Public and Press are invited to attend and observe the First Machine Harvest in Minnesota of a highly promising new crop; hybrid bush hazelnuts. The machine will be working where visitors can watch up close and personal this Thursday, September 22nd, at Badgersett Farm in SE Minnesota. No reservations or fees are required; hours are 10 AM to 3 PM. The company’s blog will carry updates, and has more photos and video available; http://badgersettresearch.blogspot.com/

Easiest instructions for how to find the farm are at Google Maps, or at the company’s website, badgersett.com.

“We’ve been working toward this day for 2 decades. The dozens of growers who already have hazels planted have been counting on our prediction that we would be able to machine harvest these neohybrid hazelnut bushes. Now we’ve made the prediction come true: the machine is here - and it works.” says Badgersett CEO and Chief Scientist Philip Rutter; “The reason it took two decades was not the lack of a machine; we needed big enough fields of big enough bushes to warrant the machine. We actually had the field ready last year, but weren’t able to arrange a machine in time- the nuts mostly went to feed wildlife. This year, a grower came through, took the leap, and purchased a machine. He’s already glad he did, and we’re ecstatic.”

Hybrid hazelnuts were developed and introduced to the Midwest by Badgersett Research Corporation (BRC). As early as 1994, major plantings of Badgersett hazels were installed at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and at Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska. Seen by many as an “oilseed” crop, the USDA recently awarded a $1.3 Million grant to 3 universities to pursue development across the nation. “It’s actually more than an oilseed. Sure; the oil is hugely important; the hazel kernel is about 60% oil, compared to 20% for soybeans. In addition, the hazel oil quality is fabulous; it’s literally the exact chemical twin of olive oil. But these plants produce far more; every year, for example, they produce nutshell, which can be used as fuel in a dozen ways; and don’t forget they’re woody plants- we harvest the wood as another crop.” Rutter says. “That’s more money in the farmer’s pocket. Ask any farmer if he could use a little more.” he grins. “Even the nut husk is going to be a money crop someday- wait and see!”

The machine being demonstrated is a used blueberry harvester, previously working to pick Michigan highbush blueberries. “Our goal from the outset was to develop a sustainable crop that real farmers; corn and bean row-crop farmers, could actually adopt. The neohybrid hazels are exactly that- you plant them just once in your lifetime; harvest now with a machine that drives like a combine; dry it in the grain dryer you already own; store it in the grain bin you already own, and in time you’ll sell it at the elevator, just like corn and beans. The nut is similar enough to soybeans that we could convert a soybean crushing plant quite easily to hazelnut processing- and not put anyone out of work.” says Dr. Brandon Rutter, an engineer and BRC COO. “It likely jobs will be added- as an industrial feedstock, the hazels are actually more versatile than soybeans. We know the soy people won’t believe that- but we can prove it.” he smiles. The company uses the term “neohybrid” to distinguish their plants from hybrid corn; “What’s going on in the chromosomes of these plants is utterly, totally, diametrically different from what happens in hybrid corn. Both kinds of hybrid genetics have huge advantages; but they are completely unlike, and yes, it’s going to be important for farmers to understand that, at least a little.” says founder Philip Rutter.

Visitors and press who come to see the harvester at work at Badgersett Farm should be aware that they won’t be seeing a full scale harvest. Philip says, “Most of our best bushes on this farm have already been picked, by hand; so we can gather the data on the individual bush performance. Everyone will be able to see the reality, though- this machine picks hazelnuts just fine, and we already have specific modifications in mind. There are still lots of nuts. We’ll be able to harvest quite a few plants and rows we haven’t been able to get picked in other years; we just didn’t have the time. The truth- just before I left for Illinois, to use the machine there on that large experimental field, I was depressed. We have so many hazel plants here; thousands of them; we simply haven’t had the time to collect the data we need and get them picked. I was thinking we should stop adding to our plantings, so we could evaluate the huge number of genetic variants we already have. But- coming back from using the machine? It hit me. We need a lot more plants, a lot more fields. We just jumped the scale of the crop way, way, up.”

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Photos sent on request.

CONTACTS:

Badgersett Research Corporation; Philip Rutter, President/CEO; (888) 557-4211

be prepared to leave a message detailing how and when to call you back.

web: badgersett.com for many details, and a map of how to get to Farm #1

email: philip.rutter@badgersett.com, info@badgersett.com

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS are available for press use; contact us via email.

A research tray of neohybrid hazelnuts; each nut from a genetically different bush.

Dr. Brandon Rutter driving the harvester at the Illinois hazel field, 9/17/11

The harvester swallows a hazel bush; hazels are more flexible than blueberries, and the bushes are not harmed when compressed by the picker.

Denise Walser-Kolar Presents Badgersett Hazel Paintings Going To London

(click for larger view. low-resolution details of larger drawings)

These are all paintings of Badgersett hybrid hazels; we've worked with Ms. Walser-Kolar to provide material for the past two years. Now, we are extremely proud to announce, she has been invited to show her work at the Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show, in London; this March. This event and her work were covered in the Rochester Post Bulletin, a week ago (link no longer working).

We've seen small-scale proofs of all of her works for this exhibit, and they're really quite outstanding! As soon as I get the database updated, we'll be offering at least some of the earliest of this series she did as greeting cards; possibly prints and (with some further work) calendars as well. I also very much look forward to seeing these works in person. Congratulations, Denise!

UPDATE:  She won!!  A Silver Gilt Medal; one of the top awards, which carries with it the right to show any of her work at this show for the next 3 years!  "Congratulations" just isn't a strong enough word!   : - )