10/09/2026
GO, Jono!
It's time for another in the Daily Hampshire Gazette!
When you think of locally grown food, do you think about nuts? If not, farmer Jono Neiger of Big River Chestnuts wants to change that!
Read the full story: https://www.buylocalfood.org/valley-bounty-big-river-chestnuts-2/
The farm is a model of farming techniques that can help us keep growing food as the climate changes. “We use agroforestry methods of intercropping chestnuts with small fruits and integrating livestock, which enhance biodiversity, soil health and ecological resilience,” says Jono. The vision sounds complicated, but the land is a pastoral composition of trees, edible berry bushes and grazing livestock in the understory. He says, “It’s an orchard with a meadow area, that’s mostly chestnuts, but there’s a lot happening out there. We’ve planted some paw-paws, persimmons, elderberries, willow.”
And even though chestnuts aren't currently a big part of the standard American diet, so many people have wonderful connections to them. “I also find joy at the market, where we’re cooking the chestnuts." says Jono. "We send people home with fresh chestnuts that they’re going to cook. I often ask people what they’re making. We get people with all different cultural backgrounds who come from around the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, across Asia and elsewhere. They have family stories about how they cooked chestnuts, ate chestnuts or how their grandmother went with them to harvest chestnuts.” He concludes, “The cultural connection and the stories that surface when people are eating chestnuts is really amazing.”
Want to check them out? Stop by their farm market in Sunderland on Saturdays through December, and don't miss their Chestnut Festival next Saturday, October 10th!
