The maker of Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates wants Essex County to go a bit nutty.
Ferrero Canada needs hazelnut growers and Essex County’s climate makes it a prime spot for farmers interested in joining what could become a $60-million-a-year crop in Ontario, Erie Innovation and Commercialization vice-president John Kelly said Wednesday.
“It’s certainly a different opportunity. We have a willing end user in Ferrero so there’s some very good reasons for doing this,” Kelly said.
Ferrero Rocher label. (Google Image)
Erie Innovation and Commercialization works to diversify agriculture in south central Ontario and is part of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association. Kelly said interest in growing hazelnuts commercially began after the Italy-based Ferrero opened its Brantford plant in 2006. The Canadian plant supplies Nutella, Ferrero Rocher and TicTacs to North America and Australia and needs the nuts for its hazelnut chocolate spread Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolates.
“We think there’s a market for 10,000 hectares in the province,” Kelly said.
In acres, that’s around 25,000 acres and he is looking for farmers willing to plant 10 or 20 acres or more, not just a row or two.
Right between the peanut butter and honey, Camille Helou of Service Market in Windsor, Ont., stocks his shelves with Nutella, the popular hazelnut spread Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The makers of Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella is asking farmers in Essex County to grow hazelnuts for their popular products. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)
Startup costs can vary and it can take four years before the trees will bear fruit and seven years to full production. Orchard owners such as apple growers are used to a delay in making back initial planting costs and Kelly said it could be a way for orchard owners or farmers in general to diversify. The net return once the trees start producing nuts is estimated at $2,000 per acre.
“It’s certainly better than any of the field crops that we see,” Kelly said of common Essex County crops such as soybeans, corn and wheat.
Essex County and Niagara already have orchards and would be ideal spots for growing hazelnut trees, he said. Essex County would be the preferred spot because it has high heat units during the growing season and land may be cheaper here than in Niagara, he said.
Right between the peanut butter and honey, Camille Helou of Service Market in Windsor, Ont., stocks his shelves with Nutella, the popular hazelnut spread Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The makers of Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella is asking farmers in Essex County to grow hazelnuts for their popular products. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)
It is not a labour-intensive crop. When the nuts fall to the ground they can be collected with machinery.
Calls to Ferrero Canada’s Brantford plant and North York headquarters were not returned Wednesday.
About 70 per cent of the world’s supply of hazelnuts is in Turkey, which has been experiencing political protests.
That instability and the risk of a poor growing season in Turkey are behind the interest in a variety of sources for hazelnuts. The Brantford plant gets its hazelnuts from Turkey and other spots including the United States, Chile and Italy and would like to diversify and boost that supply, especially as Nutella grows in popularity, Kelly said.
Keith Wright, an apple grower near Harrow who is a director with the Ontario Apple Growers, said orchard owners would need detailed information on the costs and perhaps incentives before considering planting trees. Orchard owners have been burned in the past when they planted peach trees only to see the Ontario processing plant close, Wright said.
Right between the peanut butter and honey, Camille Helou of Service Market in Windsor, Ont., stocks his shelves with Nutella, the popular hazelnut spread Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The makers of Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella is asking farmers in Essex County to grow hazelnuts for their popular products. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)
But Ferrero has made a large investment in Brantford and growers are always looking for an alternate crop if the economics make sense, Wright said.
Kelly said he’s working on finding incentive grants.
The University of Guelph has done research on which varieties grow well here and show resistance to disease. Kelly can be reached at 519-426-7913.
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