Baurs Corner Farm

04/07/2026

Just ordered 200 gallons of die$el at $6.06/gallon! Our processor has to truck the nuts to the dryer and use energy to dry and process the nuts and then fuel to ship them. The fuel price increases my cost to produce and reduces what I get paid for the crop. It increases the cost to consumers and reduces demand for my crop.

03/06/2026

We got skunks too!

Right now, in wet woods across the Eastern US, a plant called Skunk Cabbage is generating its own body heat — up to 70°F above the surrounding air temperature — and MELTING through frozen ground from below.

This isn't photosynthesis. This is thermogenesis. The same process your body uses to stay warm.

- Skunk Cabbage is one of the only plants on Earth that produces metabolic heat
- It burns stored starch at a rate comparable to a small mammal
- Its internal temperature holds steady at 68-77°F even when the outside air is 15°F
- It pushes through snow and frozen soil by literally melting a tunnel from underneath
- The heat volatilizes its chemicals — producing a rotting-meat smell that attracts the first flies of the season

Those early flies crawl inside the hooded spathe, get warm, pick up pollen, and carry it to the next furnace down the creek.

While you're still wearing a winter coat, this plant is running a heated pollination station in a frozen swamp.

March's first bloom doesn't wait for warmth. It makes its own.

03/05/2026

My no right to repair John Deere tractor has an intermittent speedometer. I need the speedo to spray at the right speed. I opened up the dash and found a empty hazelnut. MICE! One gnawed wire could cost $thousands and a couple weeks in the shop! I can use GPS on my phone to monitor speed, but 1 chewed wire could disable the tractor! I put sticky trap under the hood and caught 2 mice. I think having hazelnuts is causing a big increase in mice. We have a feral cat from the humane shelter on duty now.

02/19/2026

Went to our hazelnut buyer's breakfast after getting the news that we were getting an additional $1 per pound this year! Everyone was super happy! This is the swag I got at the breakfast! Local and European hazelnuts and hazelnut candy! Insulated backpack! Got 15 hazelnut mountain bars, a new product being market tested! Only 12 left now after sampling!

02/11/2026

I used the shredded hazelnut and other trees as a deep mulch between the garlic raised beds.

02/02/2026

The north wind has permanently bent some trees way to the south and would fall over with a heavy nut crop or ice storm so I did some drastic pruning so the new growth will be upright. Will is feeding trees into the shredder. Got a bunch of mulch out of the deal too!

11/24/2025

Dahlias are cut back and covered with black plastic. This keep the 3 feet of rain from stripping nutrients from the soil and keeps weeds from growing.

11/20/2025

Bought 7 filters, ave price $70 each!

11/07/2025

Grandkids harvesting trash along the road.

11/03/2025

Will planting garlic in that beautiful dirt! 10! raised beds of two rows of garlic.

10/28/2025

The heavy rain brought the last of the walnuts down so U-Pick is back on by appointment. Text 503 635 7873 as I can't answer the phone when on the tractor!