Dive into the world of chestnut production in this episode of ATTRA’s Voices from the Field podcast. NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Tyler Jenkins talks with Michelle Ajamian, a network developer for the Appalachian Stable Foods Collaborative. Ajamian, based in southeastern Ohio, advocates for small-scale farming and discusses the challenges and triumphs of cultivating a chestnut market in the region.
In 2022, Rural Action received a SARE Partnership grant (Value Adding Culinary Chestnut Seconds Through the Development of a Marketable Fine Flour) to explore value-added opportunities for grade B chestnuts. Working with the Route 9 Chestnut Cooperative, Ajamian examined milling processes and equipment to develop a profitable model for producing fine flour from chestnuts with a high moisture content. Through her outreach efforts with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Ajamian also brought local farmers together in support of expanding long-term regional chestnut markets.
This episode of Voices from the Field is one in a series co-produced by ATTRA and SARE that explores the different ways farmers are working to create new local markets for specialty and niche crops. Each partner episode will address a different production system or crop—from endives to small-grain value chains—and will feature farmers sharing their production and marketing strategies, challenges and successes along the way.
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Related Resources:
- Demonstrating Higher Yields and Market Opportunities of Mixed Annual and Perennial Intensive Planting in Appalachian Ohio
- Producing Culinary Chestnut Flour with Michelle Ajamian and Amy Miller
- Consider Chestnuts: A Potential Perennial for Market Farms
- Rural Action
- Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative