Fraser Valley Hazelnuts in British Columbia: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Fraser Valley Hazelnuts is a family-run orchard and processing plant in Chilliwack, British Columbia, opened in 2016 in a revived processing facility. Edible Vancouver describes it as the only commercial-scale hazelnut processor in the province, buying from 27 BC farms and processing 190,000 pounds in 2022.
| Location | Chilliwack, Fraser Valley, British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Founded | Opened in 2016 in a revived processing facility (Edible Vancouver) |
| Sectors | hazelnut orchard; hazelnut washing, drying, cracking and roasting; wholesale and retail sales |
| Scale | 38 acres planted on its own site, 20 beginning to produce in 2022; buys from 27 BC farms; 190,000 lb processed in 2022 (Edible Vancouver) |
| Why it is notable | Described as the only commercial-scale hazelnut processor in BC, supporting the blight-resistant orchard recovery |
| Ownership | Family-run company (Edible Vancouver); earlier CBC and Farms.com coverage named Kevin Hooge as running or buying the plant |
| Official website | Edible Vancouver feature on Fraser Valley Hazelnuts (no official website URL found) |
History of Fraser Valley Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts have been farmed in the Fraser Valley since the 1930s, according to the CBC. Eastern filbert blight, a fungal disease, reached BC and killed most orchards by the early 2010s, and provincial output fell from more than 450 tonnes a year to about 18 tonnes. Edible Vancouver says the blight destroyed about 95 percent of commercial orchards and closed three processors.
Fraser Valley Hazelnuts opened in 2016 in a run-down Chilliwack processing facility that the company revived. Farms.com describes it as Western Canada's only hazelnut processing plant. The industry is recovering with blight-resistant trees bred in Oregon and provincial funding, and the BC government announced $300,000 over three years to subsidize clearing old orchards and planting new trees.
What Fraser Valley Hazelnuts Grows and Raises
Edible Vancouver reports that the company has 38 acres planted on its own site and buys from 27 farms in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island. Harvesting machines pick up nuts and remove husks; the plant then blows off husks, washes and dries nuts for 24 to 45 hours, and stores them in the shell. A cracking line with a digital sorter and a roasting line that removes skins make roasted and diced hazelnuts and hazelnut meal.
Yamhill, a blight-resistant variety developed by Oregon State University, is common in BC. The CBC notes that young trees take about four years to produce nuts, so supply is still growing. The BC government has published an online hazelnut production guide covering orchard planning for growers.
How Fraser Valley Hazelnuts Makes Money
Processing for other growers
Buying nuts from 27 BC farms and washing, drying and cracking them gives smaller growers a local outlet for their crop and gives the plant its volume.
Retail and bulk sales
Edible Vancouver lists sales through farmers' markets, the company website, retailers and bulk sales to chefs across BC.
Wholesale to food makers
Customers named include restaurants and food makers such as Earnest Ice Cream, Thomas Haas and ChocolaTas, and the plant supplies roasted and chocolate-covered hazelnuts.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Fraser Valley Hazelnuts
Build the missing link. After blight closed processors, a local plant restored an outlet for growers. Sectors rebuilding after disease can recover faster when processing capacity is rebuilt alongside orchards.
Sell to many kinds of buyers. Farmers' markets, chefs, retailers and food makers each pay differently and demand different cuts, so a processor with several channels is less exposed to any one buyer.
A hazelnut tree takes about four years to bear, which makes it the only farm crop that teaches the same patience as waiting for a sourdough starter to forgive you. For readers who like farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes about nuts, blight and very slow harvests, farm.FM is ready now. In Chilliwack, the cracking line is already running.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Fraser Valley Hazelnuts
Website: https://ediblevancouver.ediblecommunities.com/eat/farming-resilient-filbert
No official website, phone or email was verified in the sources reviewed, so none is published here. Edible Vancouver describes sales through farmers' markets, the company website, retailers and bulk orders. Details checked November 2026.
Fraser Valley Hazelnuts Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Edible Vancouver: Farming the Resilient Filbert - Feature on the plant, acreage and customers
- Farms.com on the hazelnut recovery - Coverage of blight, replanting and provincial funding
- CBC on hazelnut farming rebirth - National broadcaster coverage of Fraser Valley hazelnuts
- BC hazelnut orchard planning guide - Provincial Ministry of Agriculture production guidance
- BC hazelnut resources and contacts - Provincial hazelnut resources page
Fraser Valley Hazelnuts FAQ
Where is Fraser Valley Hazelnuts?
It is in Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia.
What does it do?
It grows hazelnuts and processes nuts from 27 BC farms, including washing, drying, cracking and roasting, per Edible Vancouver.
Why did BC hazelnut farming decline?
Eastern filbert blight arrived in BC and destroyed most commercial orchards by the early 2010s.
Is the industry recovering?
Yes. Growers are replanting blight-resistant trees such as Yamhill, with provincial funding support.
Fraser Valley Hazelnuts shows how one processing plant can anchor a regional crop's comeback. For more operations across the province, see the British Columbia farms guide on this site.