Five Generations. 100+ Years. Lots of Delicious Hazelnuts.

In 1905, John Victor Holmquist emigrated to the U.S. from Finland to help his father clear wilderness areas for farming in Mt. Vernon, WA. On Independence Day of 1909, with vision and keen foresight, John Victor Holmquist settled on his own heavily timbered acreage at Judson Lake near Lynden, Washington.

Hazelnuts had only been introduced to the region about 50-60 years earlier, and John, wanting to take advantage of the rich soil and mild weather of the Northwest found that hazelnut trees were an excellent crop to work with. He started in the mid to late 1920’s with hazelnuts. Originally, he chose to plant Barcelona and DuChilly hazelnuts which were two of the most popular in Washington State at the time. The latter were premium hazelnuts that were well-known over the years for their large size, distinct oblong shape, sweet flavor, unique thin skin and stubborn adhering husk that must be removed. The DuChilly is considered a relative of the Kentish Cobnut which was known to be a Victorian delicacy.

While we might never know why John V. Holmquist decided to plant hazelnuts; it’s believed that because of their new and growing popularity that selling them would be a good way to supplement the farm income and diversify. In the early 1900’s Pacific Northwest hazelnut growers had the entire country to market to with little competition. The fact that hazelnuts are not readily perishable also aided greatly in marketing. In modern times, Hazel trees are known to grow and produce for 80+ years, John might have realized the possibilities this longevity might provide as the later generations of the family didn’t remove the original hazelnut orchard from the 1920’s until 92 years later, in the year 2012. The original orchard which consisted of the main varieties Barcelona, DuChilly and Nooksack was only removed because of the Eastern Filbert Blight which was causing them to become unproductive.

Over the next few decades, John’s son Anton and grandson Gerald developed a productive farm. They raised crops of hay, oats, peas, beans and potatoes alongside their hazelnut trees. Decades later, Gerald and his family planted additional hazelnut orchards during the early 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. Gerald and his wife Natalie also ran a dairy farm but always had a crop of hazelnuts to harvest with the help of five children. Tired of shipping his crop to Oregon for processing, Gerald decided to bring in the welding expertise of his uncle Don Larson to help refit used vegetable processing equipment to clean and dry his own hazelnut crop.

Their first processing building was erected in the early 1980’s to support the processing equipment. In the mid-1990’s, along with the help of his sons’ Brian and Richard, Gerald phased out the long running dairy operation and went full time into hazelnuts and it seemed appropriate for the business to carry the name Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards to reflect the three Holmquist’ family’s commitment to tending hazelnut orchards. In the late 1990’s the family invested in shelling equipment for hazelnuts which opened up new markets previously left untouched. In 2010, they installed one of the largest in-shell sizers in the industry to prepare for the expanding market.

When you buy from Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards, you’re supporting a family-owned and operated farm. They've been a farming family for the last five generations, with more than a century of experience! That’s how they’re able to provide you with the highest quality hazelnuts directly from their farm to your table. They’ve perfected the process for growing and processing hazelnuts so that you get hazelnuts that are fresh and flavorful. In fact, they often hear that people didn’t know hazelnuts could taste this good.