Students go nuts for summer

The future of agriculture is nuts. Chestnuts and hazelnuts, to be precise. At least that was the possibility two Oberlin students investigated this summer.

College sophomore Ned Basbaum and college senior Chris Rohlfs spent the summer on Badgersett Research Farm in southern Minnesota, a "woody agriculture" research center which studies the production of agricultural commodities from woody perennial plants. It is an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient substitute for maize, soybeans and other crops.

Badgersett is run by Oberlin graduate Philip Rutter, OC '70, a prominent researcher of woody agriculture. Basbaum and Rohlfs assisted him in the development of hybrid nuts as an alternative to conventional annual agriculture, such as corn and wheat.

Basbaum, Rohlfs and a third intern from Swarthmore College kept track of thousands of seedlings being raised in a greenhouse and shadehouse on the 160-acre farm.

To record the progress of the hazelnuts and chestnuts they sorted and planted saplings, along with keeping meticulous records of each plant's growth. "A lot of my summer was spent labeling," said Basbaum. "Every bush on the farm had an I.D., so I Nuts: Senior Chris Rohlfs worked as intern at a "woody agriculture" research center. (photo courtesy Ned Basbaum)

Nuts: Senior Chris Rohlfs worked as intern at a "woody agriculture" research center. (photo by Ned Basbaum)