To bring in income while the walnut trees are growing, many new plantings are using “agroforestry,” which uses double-cropping of walnut trees with pasture crops for harvesting or livestock grazing. Trees are planted in widely-spaced rows, at about 100 trees per acre, with other crops between the rows. In addition to pasture crops, high-value crops like raspberries or blueberries can be used. Agroforestry can provide income for different ways. For the first few years, the only income is from the crop planted between the trees. As the trees become larger, they are thinned to about 30 trees per acre, with wood from the thinning being sold. After a few years, the walnut trees begin to produce nuts for harvesting. When the remaining thinned trees are mature, they are harvested for veneer logs, which bring thousands of dollars per log.
Walnuts in agroforestry
The trees need little management during their first five or six years, during which time they will not bear fruit. AGRIVI system gives you all activities and measures how to properly manage your farm. It will also help you track all farm activities, workers, finances and productivity of your walnut orchard. Although there is a range of diseases that walnuts may become infected with, they are, on the whole, not serious and will not endanger the plantation. Good husbandry can control most problems. The most serious issue is the control of squirrels. In areas with large populations of grey squirrels, walnut production may not be viable.
Squirrel on the walnut tree
Although it may take a bit more work and patience to establish a planting of nut trees compared to “instant” crops like vegetables, the trees will continue to increase nut production and profits, for many years as the trees grow. Nut trees can produce for decades as well, producing a dependable income for many years.
Walnut farm in Turkey, Anatolia
The global production of walnut has increased within a few couples of years and the largest increase is observed in the Asia continent. In 2010, the production of walnut exceeded 2.55 million metric tons thus resulting in a valuable rank in most used dry fruits.
Top 10 largest walnut producing countries in the world:
| Rank | Country Name | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 1,782,573 |
| 2 | Iran | 450,398 |
| 3 | USA | 425,956 |
| 4 | Turkey | 194,572 |
| 5 | Mexico | 110,794 |
| 6 | Ukraine | 96,397 |
| 7 | India | 46,923 |
| 8 | Chile | 38,205 |
| 9 | France | 36,625 |
| 10 | Romania | 31,928 |
Growing trees for profit is an ideal part-time or full-time business for anyone who enjoys being outdoors and working with plants. Trees are a valuable and renewable resource that can be grown in a tiny backyard or on a 100-acre tree farm.
Raise your walnut orchard and start profitable farming today with AGRIVI system.
