Woody agriculturist speaks on campus

Philip Rutter (OC '70) is a breeder from Canton, Minnesota developing woody agriculture. Sophomore Abby Person is a news editor and owner of a patent for a new way to dye cotton. Person is presenting her findings at the Smithsonian today. Rutter gave a lecture on campus Thursday.

Abby Person: So, what is woody agriculture?

Philip Rutter: Woody agriculture is a new discipline. Woody agriculture is the realization of highly domesticated woody plants for mainstream staple production. There are two main models: one is hazelnut and the other is chestnut. The bottom line is one that I use to startle audiences, and I usually get a big laugh. 'In 20 years you'll be planting hazelnuts instead of soybeans.' Actually chestnuts have a genuine potential to literally replace corn, the difference being that you plant once during your lifetime. There's a whole variety of background reasons for why this is possible and why people don't think of it.

AP: So is this nut harvesting? Or is it bigger? Or broader?

PR: Both of these models are nut harvesting. There are a lot of other things that are actually possible. One of the other points that makes this feasible is that woody plants actually capture a lot more sunlight than annual crops do. Compare woody plants like chestnut to a crop like corn. You're able to capture three times the light. Three times the energy is flowing through your system. If there is three times the energy to play with, then you really oughta be able to do something.

AP: Can the soil keep up with the high production?

PR: There are no magic wands. If you're taking off a lot of crop, you have to put on a lot of something. Luckily for us there is a huge problem with waste disposal right now all over the world except for China. They've been spreading waste on crops and have been for centuries. You put fertilizer on and hope it stays there long enough for the corn to absorb it.

It's not a low input but there are enormous benefits of actually catching what you put in.

There is a permanent root system and there ain't nothin' that gets past them.

AP: Is it feasible to have an organic farm of this type?

PR: Sure, yeah. Like all organic systems you're going to add a little labor to the process.

AP: Is it crossbreeding?

PR: Yes. Most people have a walnut or an oak tree kicking around in their back yard. What you see is that they produce crops this year and then not the next and not the next. The trick is those are wild trees. Trying to produce wheat from black walnuts would be similar to building yourself the best state of the art dairy you could and then stocking it with coyotes for a milk animal. You can probably milk coyotes but it is not going to be proper.

We have been crossing species to break down the wild type. A lot of the characteristics that we use would get a plant killed in the wild. Some of the wild type characteristics that would get a plant killed very quickly in the wild are extremely useful. One is precocity. I have three different strains of chestnut that flower within months of germination and produce. That was a characteristic that is lethal in the wild.When you koppes [mow to the ground] the plants they will come back and they will bear fruit next fall

AP: Do farmers need different farm equipment?

PR: Sure. It's going to be different. It's actually a critical part of the whole process. There are alternative agriculture ideas kicking around. But farmers don't want to use them. They are so different. Actually they can't do it. You can't take a large soy bean farm, with two brothers on 4,000 acres with a couple of big machines and two hired hands. They cannot go to an operation that is high labor because it is a completely different operation. They don't have the skill; they'll go broke trying They'll take one look at it and say nope, no way. The intention of woody agriculture is to develop crops that will be machinable in this country with recognizable machinery. Farmers won't actually plant this stuff, it will be custom planted only once. Harvesting machines will work like a combine, basically.

It's recognizable technology

AP: So the farm will look like normal farm. Not a farm with large trees?

PR: Yeah, right. In order to keep it machinable there will be bushes rather than trees.

AP: What are the nutritional aspects?

PR: I know that there are a lot of people that think of [nuts] and they think fat. Well, what do you think of when I say olives? Hazel oil is virtually identical to olive oil. And it tastes very good. We're using that instead of soybeans. Soybeans are actually toxic until they are cooked and processed. Hazels are high in oil, higher than soybeans are. Chestnuts are actually low oil. Only 2-3 percent. Protein quality is actually about the same as an egg.

AP: What kind of products can be made?

PR: Another reason why we chose chestnuts and hazelnuts, because they both have existing high end markets. not a bad crop necessarily, but not a lot of people who know it or want it or care. Pasta for example, you can have chestnut pasta.

AP: So if you're not plowing the field, is it going to turn into a mess?

PR: Ha ha. That's not the only problem. Tightly planted hazel plants will kill most of the weeds. The one thing that is not trivial is... what lives in there? Everything lives in there! All kinds of critters. Birds nest in there just fine, thank you.

In his element: Phillip Rutter speaks biology. (photo by Mike Oleson)