Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Wanted: Ontario Farmers To Grow Hazelnuts. Is anyone interested in learning more?

 

Simcoe, Ontario - Erie Innovation and Commercialization is looking for farmers who are interested in being part of one of Ontario’s newest crops, hazelnuts. Varieties have been identified that will grow well in Ontario’s climate and the emerging sector is now seeking farmers who are willing to start planting some of these trees.

 

“We have an identified market potential in Ontario for hazelnuts that’s equivalent to about 10,000 hectares of trees,” says John Kelly, Vice President of Erie Innovation and Commercialization, an initiative of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. “Hazelnuts can be grown anywhere in Ontario that apples are, and the revenue potential for this crop is significant.” 

 

It can take four years for hazelnut trees to start bearing fruit and seven years before they hit full  production. By then, however, the potential net return is estimated at $2,000 per acre. Brantford’s Ferrero  Inc., which manufactures Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates, currently imports its hazelnut supply but  is very interested in accessing a stable, locally grown source. 

 

As part of a major hazelnut research project currently underway to help establish the hazelnut industry in Ontario, researchers have been screening hazelnut varieties for resistance to eastern filbert blight and the ability to withstand Ontario’s climate, as well as establishing methods for fast and reliable propagation of seedlings. The project, which involves OFVGA, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, University of Guelph, Ontario Centres of Excellence and industry partners, also includes gathering market intelligence, helping the industry get organized and planning for the infrastructure the industry will need as it grows. 

 

“We are now at the point where we need growers who are willing to commit to hazelnuts by putting some trees in the ground,” says Kelly. “This is an exciting new opportunity for Ontario farmers, especially for those who farm in our current tree fruit growing areas, such as Essex and Niagara.” 

Anyone interested in planting hazelnuts or learning more about the opportunity should contact Erie Innovation and Commercialization at 519-426-7913. 

 

Investment in this project is provided by Agriculture and AgribFood Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program. In Ontario, this program is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.

Erie Innovation and Commercialization is part of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association, dedicated to pursuing a regional approach to agricultural diversification to ensure the continuing economic  stability and sustainability of the sector.

Views: 231

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Moe Agostino on June 29, 2013 at 2:56am

What are the economics of growing a new crop like this?

Thanks,

Moe

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

The Most Wanted Wheat Seed Across the Prairies — AAC WALSH

PART ONE The sign was up before anyone knew who put it there. No name. No description. Just a dark silhouette nailed to the side of the grain elevator, paper already curling at the edges where the prairie wind worried it loose. MOST WANTED. That was all it said. In a town like this, that was enough. People here understood value. They understood timing. They noticed things that arrived quietly and stayed put. By midmorning, more than a few sets of eyes had found their way to the elevator wall, lingered longer than necessary, then moved on without comment. At the café, steam rose off coffee cups and hung in the air like unfinished sentences. “Yield and protein like that,” someone said eventually, not looking up, “oughta be outlawed.” It was meant as a joke. It didn’t land like one. No one asked who that was. Nobody needed to. The phrase carried weight all on its own, passing from table to table, slipping into conversations that paused just long enough to acknowledge it. By the

Canada-China Trade Agreement Boosts Outlook for Canola and Prairie Seed Sheds

Renewed exports may narrow the basis and reduce surplus stocks, but rebuilding grower confidence will take time. Tariffs and economic trends are often discussed in the abstract, but their consequences couldn’t be more concrete for Prairie seed sheds. In recent months, real-world examples have already reared their heads — such as canola multiplications in California facing counter-tariffs — forcing Canada’s seed sector to adapt to a trade environment that can change quickly, even when agreements are reached. The recent trade deal between Canada and China has brought some much-needed relief to the sector, particularly around market access and export movement. But for many farmers and seed companies, the agreement also underscores a hard truth: the impacts of trade disruptions don’t disappear overnight. It is little surprise that global trade ripples affect local decisions: fewer seed options, changing input costs, and constrained access to genetics. “Tariffs create uncertainty in an

Canada Gains Expanded Meat Access in Indonesia

Canada has secured a major expansion of market access for beef and pork exports to Indonesia, marking a significant milestone following the signing of the Canada–Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) last September. 

'Phone in one hand, beer in the other': High-tech automation is giving farmers more time

Anyone visiting Don Badour’s cow-calf operation in the last 18 months will have noticed his cattle sporting some spiffy orange bling around their necks. The bovine baubles aren’t just for looks, however. They’re part of a sophisticated virtual fencing system that helps the Lanark County farmer monitor and track his herd’s movement and wellbeing. Badour is quite pleased with the investment — and so are the cows. “I thought that the cows might be not too happy with them on, but we put them on, they gave their heads one or two shakes, and that's it,” Badour said during a panel discussion at the 2026 Northern Ontario Ag Conference, hosted by the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance in Sudbury Feb. 6-7. “They've come to realize they're there. So we haven't had any trouble with the cows rejecting them.”? ?Made by the New Zealand company Gallagher, the eShepherd neck bands weigh about eight pounds each and are powered by solar-charged batteries. They run on GPS and the system is ope

Trump EPA sued over reapproval of dicamba herbicide as farm and environmental groups warn of renewed crop damage

Farmers and environmental organizations have launched a new legal challenge against the Environmental Protection Agency, arguing its latest approval of the controversial herbicide dicamba ignores court rulings, scientific evidence and the interests of growers harmed by chemical drift. The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court by a coalition that includes the National Family Farm Coalition, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, challenges the EPA’s decision to re-register dicamba for use on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The decision marks the latest chapter in a years-long dispute over dicamba, a weedkiller widely used in U.S. agriculture but criticized for its tendency to volatilize and drift, damaging nearby crops, orchards and natural vegetation. “EPA’s re-registration of dicamba flies in the face of a decade of damning evidence, real world farming know-how and sound science, and, oh-by-the-way, t

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service