- The black walnut harvest season in the Ozarks has been extended through Nov. 14 due to weather delays.
- Hammons Black Walnuts, a major buyer, has set the price at $13 per 100 pounds for hulled, freshly fallen walnuts.
- The Midwest is the only region in the world where black walnuts are commercially harvested on a large scale.
An annual tradition in the Ozarks, the black walnut harvest season can wrap up as early as the end of October. This year, largely due to weather, it has been extended through Nov. 14.
Black walnuts are plentiful in the Midwest, especially Missouri, and typically fall from trees in September and October. They are gathered up to be used or sold.
The local variety, which has a bolder and earthier flavor than the milder English walnut, grows wild and largely is used as a cooking and baking ingredient.
Hammons Black Walnuts, the main commercial buyer and distributor in the Ozarks, has established 170 buying stations in more than a dozen states. The Stockton-based company typically gathers 10-15 million lb of Black Walnuts each harvest season.
This year, the harvest in Missouri is expected to be on the lighter side.
“This is not a bumper crop,” said Jacob Basecke, executive vice president, Hammons Black Walnuts.
“Missouri is not super strong. It is average to below average this year.”
Basecke said weather is largely to blame. Temperatures stayed warmer for longer in September and October, which delayed their collection as the nuts were still in the trees.
“We have to wait for the nuts to fall before they can be harvested,” he said.
Basecke said each year is different and the slow start spurred an extension of the harvest season. Lately, the wind and cooler air has been helping.
“The crop looks to be decent in much of Missouri, so activity should increase now that nuts are coming down. And it’s better than last year in states east of the Mississippi,” said Brian Hammons, president of Hammons Products, in a news release.
“We hope and pray that the weather cooperates so folks can get them in. There’s still time through the next three weeks, and a lot of people who love the bold, natural flavor of Black Walnuts are counting on the harvest coming in.”
Missouri recently announced its network of hullers will continue buying past October, when the harvest typically ends, with many going through Nov. 14.
“Each fall, thousands of people across the Midwest gather wild black walnuts by hand and bring them to local hulling stations — many right here in southwest Missouri,” wrote Basecke, in an email.
“In fact, there are more black walnuts harvested in Greene County than anywhere else in the world. It’s a community event that’s deeply rooted in Ozarks history, connecting generations of families, farmers, and small-town businesses.”
The buying price has been fairly steady at $13 per 100 pounds, after hulling, to individuals and groups who bring in freshly fallen black walnuts. Hullers can bring in the walnuts in buckets, sacks and trailers.
”The Midwest is the only place in the world where black walnuts are collected and sold on a large scale, so it’s something that is very unique and special to these rural communities,” Hammons said.
They are largely used in ice cream, cakes, cookies and pies.
Harvesters are encouraged to pick up black walnuts while the husk is still green — not black, mushy or dried — and get them to a hulling station within a day or two.
To find a hulling station near you, visit www.black-walnuts.com.
