Oregon Hazelnut Industry

The Oregon Hazelnut Industry Office, headquartered in Aurora, Oregon, represents hazelnut growers and processors in the Pacific Northwest state that produces over ninety-nine percent of the American hazelnut crop. The Oregon hazelnut industry consists of approximately one thousand family-owned farms cultivating over ninety thousand acres of hazelnut orchards, primarily in the Willamette Valley south of Portland, where the climate of mild wet winters and dry warm summers provides ideal growing conditions for the European hazel cultivar. The industry has undergone rapid expansion since the early 2000s when Oregon State University breeders developed new varieties resistant to Eastern Filbert Blight, a fungal disease that previously limited orchard productivity, leading to a tripling of planted acreage over two decades. The organization conducts domestic and international marketing campaigns to promote hazelnuts as a versatile culinary ingredient and healthy snack, highlighting nutritional attributes including high vitamin E content, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, and antioxidant capacity. For food manufacturers, the organization provides sourcing connections to Oregon hazelnut processors who shell, sort, and package product in forms including whole kernels, diced pieces, hazelnut flour, and hazelnut paste.