5. I am working on a book (to be published by Chelsea Green Co.) that will explain this all in detail, but for now I will give the “short” answer. This 42-acre farm will hopefully be a model for many … Number of trees per acre for various common planting spacings All existing trees in the openings should be cut. The chestnut was the primary mast crop food source for whitetails until all were wiped out nearly a century ago. U.S. chestnut production is less than 1 percent of total world production. The wholesale cost for 50 grafted chestnut trees is $848, or $16.95 per tree. 850 - 1000 trees per acre (the stocking rate is actually 1000 trees per acre but majority of plantations nowadays have 15% of the site allocated for bio-diversity, this is generally made up of open space/access tracks/road or stream setbacks etc.....however some acres will have 1000 and others could have 600.....even with the 15% rule you'll find many sites are closer to a 900/acre average) Chestnut trees can be grown on land too hilly or poor for other crops, and produce 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of nuts per acre. With 200 trees per acre ready for harvesting each year, a u-cut tree farm could theoretically bring in $9,200 per acre annually. Chestnut trees particularly flourish in the Mediterranean basin. When in … Some chestnut trees can live to more than a 100 years old. Having a mixed orchard of walnut trees and another crop has been reported to result in lower yields than having pure nut orchards. They're doing 40 per square meter! The three most popular Christmas trees are Balsam fir, Douglas fir and Scotch pine. As the trees grow bigger, the grove will be thinned, and mature groves will end up with trees on … Maintain this spacing until the trees reach 8" in diameter, then thin to increase spacing to 20'. That means that over it’s lifetime, each tree will average about 20 pounds of chestnuts per year. Hazels require similar annual input costs as corn, and organic sustainability should be readily achievable as the hazel tree is native unlike most annual crops grown. acre to 1 acre, with larger openings preferred in older, taller stands. For trees that will be harvested for lumber, space them 15 x 15 feet apart or closer. Nuts.com has a 1 pound bag of dried chestnuts at $13.99 and 1 pound fresh at $9.99; on Amazon you can buy 5.25 pounds of organic chestnuts for $44.99, which works out to ~$8.5 per pound. A Lesson In Crital Thinking. A chestnut grower estimates from past records that if 20 trees are planted per acre, each tree will average 60 pounds of nuts per year. If you liked this story, hit me with some Claps so Medium will share it with others. Let’s assume the low end at 1,000 pounds. As you could probably guess, the most important component in my agroforestry system is chestnuts. But, if you have the room, a pecan tree is well worth having, and a welcome legacy for those who come behind you. While the chances of an American chestnut variety becoming a timber tree again is likely decades away, Stehli said, there is money to be made in chestnuts. Acre orchards w/27 trees per acre Cost per Acre, based on 100 Acre orchard w/27 trees per acre 1 $494.30 $488.30 2-4 $160.91 $154.91 5-7 $238.21 $232.21 8+ $548.50 $575.98 Total years 1-7 1691.66/Acre 1649.66/Acre Total Years 8-15 4676.00/Acre 4607.84/Acre Table 2. This gives you approximately 440 trees per acre. The best university info on agroforestry comes from U of Missouri Center for Agroforestry www.centerforagroforestry.org, including a 12 page summary on chestnut growing. If trees within a row are 20 feet apart and the rows are 12 feet apart (12 X 20 or 20 X 12), trees are growing at a density of roughly 182 trees per acre (see Table 2). Chestnuts bear on the outer growth each year, and so maximizing sunlight around the tree increases overall production. Similarly, timber stands can have the same basal area yet look very different on the ground. Looking at a new property which has some large trees (beech, horse chestnut, sycamore) several elder, two hazelnuts, 4 apple trees,(could be a pear in there) what looks like a Mirabelle plum and many other small trees like holy, sumac etc. The conference was video taped. If you own a tractor, it can be used to mark the distance between tree rows by simply mounting a metal or pvc pipe centered over top of the tractor body. Chestnut trees particularly flourish in the Mediterranean basin. Empress trees mature several times faster than your average oak or pine and absorb about 103 tons of carbon a year per acre. Small conventionally produced nuts can go for $5 per pound at retail, while fresh local organic chestnuts can sell for upwards of $16.50 per pound.