On this episode we’re joined by Lauren Hallett, associate professor at the University of Oregon’s Department of Biology. Hallett discusses her ongoing work to enhance the climate resiliency of Oregon’s hazelnut farms, which account for 99% of the country’s hazelnut production. With the support of a $2 million federal award, Hallett and her lab have designed an agricultural practice using native cover crops and basalt dust amendments to set a new standard for sustainable hazelnut farming. 

Topics 

• Hallett’s first experience partnering with hazelnut farms [1:02] 
• The benefits and challenges of growing hazelnuts in Oregon [3:20] 
• How to make hazelnuts climate-resilient with native cover crops [5:12] 
• What farmers and growers think of native cover crops [13:00] 
• Investigating basalt as a climate-mitigating alternative to lime [17:04] 
• The current barriers preventing widespread adoption of native cover crops and basalt on hazelnut farms [21:36] 
• The need to personalize farming solutions and avoid ‘one-size-fits-all’ [25:28] 

Guest 

• Lauren Hallett, associate professor in the Department of Biology, the Environmental Studies Program, and the Institute of Ecology and Evolution 

More Information 

• Hallett Lab, learn about Hallett and her team’s research projects in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management 
• U.S. Department of Agriculture awards $2 million to the UO to work with local hazelnut farmers, read more about the research and partnerships discussed in this episode. 
• [VIDEO] Benefits of Native Cover Crops, listen to UO’s Marissa Lane-Massee discuss the benefits of native cover crops in hazelnut farms 
• 99% of U.S. hazelnuts are grown in these eight Oregon counties, learn more about the Oregon hazelnut farming industry. 

Quotes from the Episode 

• “Climate shocks, like the heat dome in June of 2021, can be really hard on orchards, especially on baby trees. And so, increased heat waves and drought…will challenge the sustainability of the industry overall.” 
• “We’ve been developing cover crop mixes, and we’re especially using mixes that use native plants to help improve the soil and reduce runoff and erosion. And having plants on the ground also lowers the temperature of the soils, which is really important as we look towards future heatwaves.” 
• “This one is a newer idea for us, but we’ve started trialing basalt dust amendments as a replacement for liming in orchards…The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has viewed basalt dust amendments as potentially one of the most powerful natural climate solutions but also the one with the biggest uncertainty.” 
• “For now, and I would imagine for a long time, the viability of the practice will require partnerships between interested growers and conservation-focused organizations that will subsidize the seed cost.” 
• “There’s also a cultural component — to a lot of growers, they like the aesthetic of a bare and clean orchard floor. And so, when I say native plants flowering in orchards are beautiful, it’s a perfect example of beauty in the eye of the beholder, right? To me they are, but tastes vary.” 
• “There’s no one-right-cover-crop…so while a lot of our tact has been trying to build up these native species cover crops, we’re also trialing other kinds of best case, more affordable, conventional — but maybe also unconventional — cultivated species that that could help fill this matrix of different reasons to have cover crops: different needs, different constraints.” 

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