On a seven and half acres, just east of the Connecticut River, and south of Sunderland Center there is a remarkable experiment in regenerative agriculture underway.
Five years ago, Jono Neiger and his family started planting seven acres of chestnut trees, now 315 trees in all. These are not experiments in growing the American chestnut that lost the vast continent-wide battle against blight. These are many varieties of chestnut trees, even cross-bred with Southern Chinkapins, each expected to produce hundreds of pounds of nuts a year.
“Why chestnut trees?” you ask, (remembering a few crunchy chestnuts in last years’ Thanksgiving turkey dressing.)
“Chestnuts are used all over the globe as a very healthy staple food; a little oil, enough protein, gluten-free, low fat. We are selling not just roasting chestnuts, but developing markets, especially for the staple food, organic chestnut flour,” Neiger says. “Chestnuts have a huge global market, US growers are missing out on the billions currently sold in China, Europe, Australia. Chestnuts in the US are just beginning to explode!”
But one of the best results of planting chestnut trees is their ability to take the carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in healthy soil.
Neiger is part of a movement of regenerative agriculturists — agroforestry. This network of dedicated agricultural scientists are grappling with a the question: How can agriculture be part of the climate crisis solution, rather than a part of the problem?
The problem stems from widespread, factory-farmed plowing, opening the ground with its rich layers of carbon soil, to wind and rain. The carbon, sometimes stored over millions of years, normally great for growing plants, blows skyward, or is flushed into waterways. Almost 30% of the atmospheric carbon overload is coming from factory farming. But these creative agroforestry farmers are planting trees, measuring the carbon, seeking ways to sustain highly nutritious “no till”organic crops like trees and berries.
Chestnut Tree Farm was awarded a grant in by NE SARE (Northeast Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education) a federal grant designed to determine marketability, soil health, and sequestration of carbon.
In order to financially benefit from crops that will help them wait out the years before the chestnuts mature, they fill in between rows 20 to 40 feet apart. “It is called ‘alley cropping.’ Neiger says. The farm is divided in half.
In the northern half of the seven acres, between the rows of chestnuts are rows of black currants and elderberries in the lower lands. These berries are often used to spike the anti-oxidant content of medicinals, and are saleable products helping to keep the farm financially stable.
The southern half of the seven acres over the past three years was fenced to rotationally graze about 1,200 free-range chickens, busily fertilizing the space between rows of trees. It is called “silvopasturing” and drastically increases the carbon held by the soil, a great strategy for reconstituting devastated land.
In addition, last year Chestnut Tree Farm sold farm stand fare. Now they are looking at packaged products under trade names like “Forestopia Chestnut Flour” or “La Cheeta Organic Chestnuts.” One thousand pounds of chestnuts, sold retail, were roasted right next to the farm stand on Sundays, fall of 2021. I heard is was lots of fun. This fall, we will be watching for the parties at Chestnut Tree Farm’s Festival!
Pam Kelly lives in Greenfield.