AVELLANA
AGROFORESTRY COOPERATIVE
Cultivating Hazelnut Prosperity
Avellana Agroforestry Cooperative (AAC) is a grower led initiative designed to build a resilient hazelnut industry.
Our members are growers who are planting regionally adapted hazelnut cultivars and who seek shared solutions for processing, marketing, and adding value to this promising perennial crop.
AAC formed to address the challenges and opportunities of scaling this industry collaboratively by pooling resources, lowering individual risk, and creating access to premium markets that would otherwise be out of reach for independent farms.
Our cooperative model centers on farmer ownership, ecological stewardship, and long-term regional economic benefit.
Founding Farmers
Our founding members are passionate about supporting hazelnut growers and facilitating connections among our community members.
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Edward Clerico
Mr. Clerico is a lifelong farmer who holds a MS in bioresource &Environmental Engineering, and is recognized as an innovator and entrepreneur in the field of sustainable infrastructure with achievements noted in water recycling and waste management. Mr. Clerico owns and operates Clerico Farm LLC, an early adopter hazelnut based agroforestry farm in Hillsborough, NJ
Ozgur Tunceli
Ozgur Tunceli, PhD in Agricultural economics blends research with a lifelong love of farming. At Our Farm By The Creek in Ringoes , NJ, she stewards 80 acres focused on hazelnut agroforestry, native flora, and regenerative care. Her love for hazelnuts stems from her childhood in Turkiye, where most of the worlds hazelnuts are grown.
Joseph Laurance Jr.
Joseph has a strong background in ornamental horticulture taht has been utilized through both his landscape company and orchard work. "My philosophy is simple: Take care of mother earth as you would take care of yourself". Joseph began gardening and caring for the land in his youth, and his love for the land formed new roots in 2023 when he planted his first hazelnut orchard. Today he continues to build on that by expanding every year.
Our Journey So Far
Founded by 3 passionate growers, AAC began as a vision to build local hazelnut industry.
