The 2025 Walnut Council Annual Meeting took place this past July in Rockford, Illinois., drawing over 100 attendees from around the country. This event featured a diverse program that focused on the management of fine hardwoods.
A highlight of the meeting was a trip to a property in southern Wisconsin that had been donated to the Walnut Council. This property has produced walnut trees of over 30 inches in diameter and includes several walnut plantations. Program topics included crop tree release demonstrations, timber stand improvement and natural regeneration management.
The event also featured a presentation by Cameron Wingren from Purdue Digital Forestry, showcasing innovative forest measurement tools and their potential applications for forest management. Other HTIRC staff that assisted in the event were Lenny Farlee, Liz Jackson and Phil Woolery.
Participants left with practical knowledge and skills to improve their forest management, including tree planting, invasive species control and thinning. that would enable them to implement practices like tree planting, invasive species management and thinning on their properties.
