As the demand for food to feed a growing global population increases, so does the pressure on communities and farmers to meet this need.  To look at how Central West Farmers can diversify and provide a much needed alternative protein crop with little negative environmental impact, and to encourage householders to consider planting hazelnut trees through Community Bulk Buy Projects, a Seminar on Growing Hazelnuts is being repeated at Rahamim Ecological Learning Centre in Bathurst at 2pm on Saturday 30th May. As a result, communities are creating "distributed hazelnut orchards" throughout the Blue Mountains and Bathurst regions.

As Australia still imports 95% of its hazelnut requirements this is an important growth area to increase Australia's food security while at the same time developing a very large Southern Hemisphere export market to provide the world with supplies of fresh hazelnuts all year round.

Lester Snare from the NSW DPI Orange, Hazelnut Nursery Propagator Bruce West and Lis Bastian from the Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute, will address how hazelnuts can become an important additional income crop for the region and how, using permaculture design principles, they can also help increase the productive capacity of their land. With hazelnuts currently one of the fastest growth nut crops in the world, they will address the sorts of markets growers can expect to access. Demand for hazelnuts worldwide has become so intense that prices have doubled in recent years. Hazelnuts are being used in the manufacture of chocolates, spreads, biscuits and breakfast cereals and China and Japan have suddenly found the "health benefits" of hazelnuts. In fact China in 2001 was importing 200 tons per year and is now importing 2000 tons per year.

The Confectionary and Health Food Industries are currently the major consumers of Hazelnuts. Ferrero Rocher, which has a factory located in Lithgow, is one of the top 3 Confectionary Companies in the world. It is also the world's biggest buyer of hazelnuts because of its chocolates and its internationally successful product Nutella, using over 50 million kgs of hazelnuts per year. Like other companies requiring hazelnuts, Ferrero Rocher is keen to establish Southern Hemisphere supplies of hazelnuts so that they can access fresh hazelnuts all year round. Executives from Ferrero Rocher visited Australia in order to encourage farmers to grow hazelnuts. Their comment was "we are running out of hazelnuts and have started growing in Chile and see Australia and South Africa as ideal Southern Climate Hazelnut areas."
Speaker Lester Snare from the DPI is one of the foremost technical experts on growing hazelnuts in Australia and he will highlight that the key to successful commercial nut production is to ensure you begin with the correct pollinizers that will maximise nut production even in changing weather conditions. Many older Australian varieties which have been around for years have no recognized pollinizers and result in low nut yields. Bruce West will explain how working with a reputable propagator will help produce yields that can make hazelnut growing a very lucrative and profitable business.

Artisan Chocolatier and winner of the Small Business Champion Awards in 2008, Jodie van der Velden of Josophan's in the Blue Mountains, will also speak at the Seminar and provide samples of her mouth watering hazelnut chocolates. She'll discuss how the Gourmet Food industry would welcome an ongoing supply of fresh hazelnuts to use year round and what sorts of markets growers can expect to access locally. She says, "I'm always looking for a sustainable source of ingredients to combine in my chocolates. To have a local source of high quality fresh hazelnuts is a very exciting prospect for me, rather than having to compromise and use those imported from countries such as Turkey, which aren't necessarily fresh or as flavoursome. It is well known that hazelnuts will last up to two years, in controlled environments, but from a chocolate making point of view, the fresher they are the greater the flavour and exactness in taste."

The Hazelnut Growers Information Session will be held at the Rahamim Ecological Learning Centre, 34 Busby Street, St Joseph's Mount, Bathurst. Cost is $10, including afternoon tea and bookings are essential to 6332 9950. The session begins at 2pm. For more information contact Lis Bastian on 47877533 or visit www.hazelnuts.com.au

In the Blue Mountains the Community Bulk Buy Programme for Hazelnuts will also be run again this year and Bathurst Community Climate Action Network will also be running a community bulk buy for the Central West. Click on our Projects button to find out more.