Badgersett Farm, Canton, MN
Saturday, August 15, 2009

...To this year's field day at Badgersett Farm (click for directions), which will be our eighteenth. We will be updating this page with further details and nailed-down times; check the New on Badgersett.com page weekly to see what's changed. Check out the schedule of events, bring a tent and camp out, but most of all come and see because there's just no substitute, and we have some very interesting stuff.

Tour Format

We'll have four different tours in two time slots, morning and afternoon. Thus, everybody will be able to take two different tours. The following is an outline of the schedule of the day, with essentially finalized times. We'll try not to change the schedule at this point, but if it does turn out to be necessary we'll post those changes here as soon as we know.

We have some exciting developments to share with you this year, including:

• Big Hazel Crop! Our mature second-generation hazels are loaded, and many of our younger hazels are bearing serious crops as well.

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• Animals! What you do with the ground between rows of hazels and chestnuts has a substantial impact on the bottom line. We've begun the first stage of our long-range plans to incorporate livestock in woody ag systems: guinea fowl and chickens.

• Successful In-Field Propagation! The initial tests of our proprietary in-field propagation technique have been successful, and you'll be able to see the results.

We will at least be selling the gopher control product we use. It's the most effective way to get hazels through years 3-5 if you've got pocket gophers, and hard to find elsewhere. There may be a few other items available, but we will not have seedlings available this field day. As always, we only sell the high-quality, best-value products we have tested and use ourselves.

Events and Attractions

Don't let the name fool you; more experienced growers will learn something new on these tours as well. They are suitable for new folks, though. These tours should give you a good introduction to the basics.

Woody Agriculture

An interactive, field version of What is Woody Agriculture? with emphasis on practice and applications. This tour will include basics on hazels, chestnuts and hickories.

Hybrid Hazels

The broad basics of what you need to see and know about Badgersett Hybrid Hazelnuts. Particularly suitable for people thinking about establishing hazel fields.

These more specialized tours will be most useful for people who are familiar with the basics. For those of you who are that familiar, there should be enough new information in these tours to keep you interested even if you've attended all of our previous field days and short courses.

Establishment

Tips, tricks, and rules you just plain have to follow to get woody ag hazel and chestnut fields established in a cost-effective manner. How-To and How-Not-To, both of which we're continually researching. Odds are, if you've got young hazels or chestnuts in the ground, or will have them soon, this tour will save you money.

Mature Hazels

NeoHybrid Hazels were created at Badgersett, so this is where you will see the first and most mature hazel fields. This tour is an overview of the tasks involved in management and improvement of mature and maturing hazel fields. You will get a great view of the heavy crop, and learn about coppicing and coppice response in a twenty-year-old planting. We'll share tips and rules for selection of superior plants, and plantation improvement. You'll also see the initial success of our proprietary in-field propagation technique.

We'll be running some of several possible demonstrations during the lunch period. All demonstrations will start at 1 PM; up to two optional demonstrations will be held if five or more attendees sign up for each before lunch.

Definite: Hazel Husking and Cleaning. We have the largest hazel harvest around these parts, and will be demonstrating the two huskers, sorting table and sizer we use to get our nuts ready for the in-shell market.

Optional:

• Sicklebar. Behold the greatness of our diesel-powered Grillo walk-behind tractor with a BCS/Ferrari double-acting cutter bar! This superbly functional setup, which we obtained from the excellent folks at Earth Tools, is how we handle our close and under-tree mowing.
• Maze. The Amazing Hazel Maze has changed over time, and has a number of new things to see this time around. We've even got a Tunnel of Love! We are seeking a maze manager to collaborate in managing the maze as an all-summer tourist attraction starting next year.
• Gopher Countermeasures. Demonstration of our methods for dealing with the pocket gophers; a critical consideration in years 3-5 of establishment.
• Hawk Roost Raising? There's a possibility we'll have a hawk and owl roost ready to install; these are a critical part of our integrated ecological pest management system.

Badgersett Research Corporation's CEO and President Philip Rutter will give a fifteen minute "New and Important" talk covering the most important current developments in Woody Agriculture theory and practice, which will not have been conveyed in all of the tours. This talk will be followed by the question and answer session as usual.

Attendees are invited to camp at Badgersett Farm both Friday and Saturday nights. We don't have developed campsites- ground is uneven and it's a hike to get to water or an outhouse. But we'll have some space mowed, some of us will be camping there, and it's the most complete way to experience the woody agriculture ecology of Badgersett Farm.

There is so much to see at Badgersett that it's just not possible to get to everything you might want to see in a day. So, we're inviting you to walk about on Sunday and find the things you missed. Some further advanced tour guiding may be available in the late morning and/or early afternoon.

We'll have display tables, literature, and a place to gather and talk with other growers under the hickories in Row S. We'll try to have a staffperson there all day to answer basic questions and hear what you've got to say. Expect this to be a hotspot for lunch, and the gathering spot for the "New and Important" talk and question and answer session.

Free guinea rides! We'll have a few young guinea fowl and chickens hanging around in the area as well, and there will be no charge for picking them up and giving them rides. Just watch out for the claws and beaks!

Hazels for Cracking! We'll have warts-and-all nuts from last year's harvest available for cracking and inspection, particularly after the husking and cleaning demonstration....

It has been verified! As in many of our past field days, some of our local Amish neighbors will be here selling baked goods, and possibly some produce as well. It isn't a lunch menu, but you might want to leave room for these goodies! We will post it here as soon as we have solidified the arrangements.