Profits
The total costs of planting hazelnut trees would indicate that the first few years of planting would result in a severe deficit, as the trees would not be fully mature thus would not be able to produce hazelnuts until the third year, only maturing at four years of age. Table 1 below shows a breakdown of revenue and costs of the average hazelnut tree grown in Canada in 2015. Some costs are variable, such as fertilizers and irrigation systems. Some, however, are fixed costs, for example for land taxes as well as cost of labour, which must be prepared to create the orchard.
Looking solely at the accumulated profit, cultivating hazelnuts would not be an easy profitable enterprise. The break-even point between profit and costs begin at the seventh year, with the pre-plant and planting years costing the most. This would be difficult to overcome without a grant or loan by the government, and with climate and other variables, may instead create a heavy deficit without yield. If the saplings were to be pre-purchased from Earthgen, an Ontario company known for featuring its EMIPP technology (Early Maturity Inducement Plant Process), there is a higher chance of survivability, greater root mass, larger foliage thus having greater hazelnut production at a faster rate, which would then increase the chances of gaining profit faster, as seen in Table 2.
The accumulated profit from the above table can be evidently seen at year 4, in which the farmers or community start gaining a stable revenue from the hazelnuts sold. This is due to the increased foliage and bigger root mass, which would allow for a more successful plant that can grow more seeds. Though the years prior to the yield still inevitably are a large deficit, it is now faster and easier to gain back the amount of investment spent purchasing and growing the trees. The Earthgen trees start at a price of $30 CAD per 30 gallon tree, thus a 20 acre field with 108 trees per acre would cost over 50 thousand. Applying for a loan or grant may allow for the large sum to be paid such that the farmers could afford to tend to the orchard and be able to deal with unexpected circumstances, as well as purchase cover crops to control pest or weed invasions. Alternatively, a smaller number of trees can be purchased at one time, then the pollinated hazelnuts can be planted and raised locally, rather than the much heavier burden of starting a larger farm.