The idea for this story came from KLCC general manager John Stark who had a hunch that the drought in California might be benefiting Oregon agriculture. He turned out to be right (even bosses can be right at times.) He suggested comparing almonds and hazelnuts. Almonds take a gallon of water each
to grow. Hazelnuts make it with just Oregon rain.
I called the Hazelnut Marketing Board and found that the drought was positively affecting Oregon's hazelnut industry in two ways. Some large growers in California were buying farmland here to grow hazelnuts and some food manufacturers were switching from almonds to hazelnuts because the supply might be more sustainable.
But the marketing board was constrained from giving me the names of any of those California companies. How to find them? I found out that Evergreen Aviation had sold thousands of acres of agricultural lands out of bankruptcy. I called two of the trustees, two lawyers involved and a realtor. None would comment. I tried reporters at the Mcminnville News-Register and the ag paper Capitol News. No luck. I checked assessment records and found some land deals, but they were registered under names like ABC Land to mask ownership. Registered agents did not return calls. I tried hazelnut packers. No dice. I called the ag extension office for Yamhill County. I was told the expert on the subject had died suddenly a year ago. Nuts indeed.
Finally, I looked at the hazelnut board's web site and got the names of support businesses like nurseries that grow the trees for farmers. I mapped the names with the acreage sold by Evergreen, figuring a neighbor would know who the new land owners were. It worked. Kevin Coleman, who runs KCK nursery in Dayton, was helpful. As I was writing the story, realtor Terry Silbernagel called back, confirmed the deals, and added some detail (Thank you Terry).
Another note: The sounds of the rain at the beginning of the story were recorded by Scott Conyers in his hazelnut orchard using his iPhone. A nice assist. Reporting, more than many jobs, is highly dependent on people helping you. This is something that I think a lot of reporters don't appreciate, although the New York Times correspondent Richard Reeves once wrote that, “what is news depends on who returns my phone calls.” I try to keep that in mind when the opportunity presents itself for me to help someone.