Rotorua farmer Alison Bentley has been awarded $50,000 to trial two new hazelnut varieties not currently grown commercially in New Zealand, which have a potentially much shorter lead time to production.
The project will conduct field research in the Rotorua Lakes Catchment on the growth management and yield of the new varieties and will involve about 70 trees.
It is one of half a dozen projects totalling almost $1 million that are expected to be signed off by Christmas as part of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Low Nitrogen Land Use Fund, says fund manager Anna Grayling.
About $1 million of the $3.3 million fund has been allocated to support landowners with making their required nitrogen and phosphorous reductions as part of a long-term solution to protect Lake Rotorua water quality.
"If people can earn money out of something like trees and it's more viable or can supplement their income from agriculture and animals, then generally that results in less nitrogen and less phosphorus entering the lake," said Ms Grayling, who noted that animal urine was a major contributor to nitrogen entering the catchment.