If you’ve spent any time researching black walnut, you’ve probably heard the idea: plant trees that produce premium timber worth $$$thousands per tree AND annual nut harvests. Double income from the same trees. Why wouldn’t you go for both?
Here’s why: because even though you could set up a planting to achieve both goals, the goals of timber form and nut production are not complimentary. This has to do with the growth form differences to reach these two different goals. After planning our own walnut plantings and consulting growing guides including the UMCA Agroforestry in Action publication Growing Black Walnut for Nut Production: Orchard Establishment and Early Management, I’ve become convinced that the best strategy is identifying your primary goal and matching your cultivar and management to that goal. Plant or graft a cultivar known for timber form for timber. Plant or graft a cultivar known for abundant nut production for nuts. Manage them differently. Accept that each planting has one primary job.
Why Compromise is Difficult
Black walnut trees face a fundamental choice about how to spend their energy: grow tall and straight, or grow wide and reproductive. You can’t force them to do both optimally.
Premium veneer timber requires specific conditions: a tall, straight stem with 16-20 feet of clear trunk (no branches), minimal taper, and tight growth rings from steady competition with neighboring trees. You create this by planting at a closer spacing, like 12×12, or even 10×10. keeping trees pruned aggressively in years 3-10, and maintaining just enough competition that they race upward instead of spreading out. The planting spacing recommendation is from the Purdue Extension publication Black Walnut Plantation Management.
This is the opposite of what produces nuts. Serious nut production requires full sun exposure to a wide crown, a full canopy, and zero competition. A productive nut tree at 40×40 spacing looks nothing like a timber tree—it’s spreading, branched low, and putting energy into nut production rather than height.
What the Cultivars Are Actually Bred For
This matters more now than it did years ago, because there are newer cultivars bred specifically for distinct purposes.
Purdue #1 and similar timber selections are bred for apical dominance (strong upward growth), straight stems, and late nut production. Purdue #1 wasn’t selected for nut production, it was selected for fast, straight growth, to make a high-quality veneer tree or sawlog in the least amount of time.
UMCA® ‘Hickman’ from the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry and other improved cultivars are the opposite story. These are selected for early nut production (bearing at 5-8 years versus 12-15 for seedlings), high yields, larger nut size, and lateral branching. They’ll eventually produce decent lumber, but that’s not why they exist.
Who knows, in the future, there may be a cultivar that is bred for timber form and fast growth, that has minimal lateral branching, but produces high nut yields.
The Real Numbers: Two Different Business Plans
Let me walk you through what these two approaches actually look like financially, using our own 1-acre plan as the example.
Timber Planting: 1/2 acre of a select timber cultivar at 12×12 spacing
Setup: 300 trees per acre = 150 trees total. Trees cost about $10-$20 depending on source of improved cultivars. Total planting cost including labor: $2250-2600.
Management: Aggressive pruning years 3-10 to achieve clear stems. First thinning should take place about year 12. Poorly formed trees with no potential for straightening, diseased, and very slow-growing trees should be removed. Mowing between rows until canopy closes around year 12-15. We have no plans for companion crop in this plot since the spacing is so close.
Income timeline:
- Years 1-20: Possible small income from first thinning around year 12. Outside of that, just growing the timber.
- Year 20-35: When trees get to 14-16 inches DBH, can be graded as #1 lumber (not veneer). Second thinning around year 25, removing every other tree, leaving approximately 60-75. Assuming 60 were thinned at approx. $400-800 per tree, that’s $24,000 – 48,000 gross. After transport etc., figure 65% of gross, so $15,000 – 31,000 net.
- Year 35-60: The remaining 60 are now at 24×24 spacing, and adding diameter growth each year. These are now becoming very valuable timber candidates.
- Year 40-60: Final harvest. If half of these grade as veneer (possible to realistic with good management), you’re looking at 30 veneer trees at $2000-4000 each plus 30 grade lumber trees at $800-1200 each. Conservative total: $84,000 – 156,000.
Nut production: Minimal. Maybe $100 annually once trees mature, mostly from the thinned wider spacing in years 25+.
Nut Planting: ½ Acre of select cultivar at 40×40 Spacing
Setup: 27 trees per acre = 14 trees total. UMCA® ‘Hickman’ grafted cultivar is $40 per tree. Total planting cost: $600.
Management: Minimal pruning – just remove damaged branches. Maintain grass understory. Focus on fertility and weed control around the trees.
Income timeline:
- Years 5-10: First nuts appear. Start small (5-20 pounds per tree), but this is several years earlier than seedlings.
- Years 10-20: Ramps up to 50-80 pounds per tree. At 70 pounds average and $0.50 per pound* (hulled), that’s $35 per tree x 14 trees = $490 per year. Could be possible hay production in between tree rows at this spacing.
- Years 20-40: Peak production. Select cultivars can reach 4000#/acre with good management. At 75 pounds average/tree: $500 annually from ½ acre.
- Years 40+: There is some timber value as a legacy crop. These aren’t going to be veneer-quality trees, but at 22-24 inches DBH, they can bring $600 – $1200 each as grade lumber. Call it $8,000 – 16,000 if all 14 are harvested at year 50.
Timber quality: Acceptable but not premium. Wide spacing means more taper, more branching, more knots. These will likely be grade lumber, not veneer.
*Price per pound for premium cultivars such as UMCA® ‘Hickman’ could be higher than for nuts collected from wild trees. This could happen if the nuts from premium cultivars consistently have qualities that the buyer will pay more for, such as higher kernel fill (the nut fills a higher % of the shell). This information comes from ‘Marking a Milestone- Mizzou Center for Agroforestry patents first black walnut cultivar’ in the UMCA Annual Report 2025.
Why We’re Doing Both Plantings (Separately)
On our farm, we’re doing both approaches because they serve different purposes and different timelines.
The timber planting is a legacy investment. I’m 55. I may see the first thinning income, but the big payday is for my kids or whoever owns this land in 2065. That’s fine—I’m okay planting trees I won’t harvest. But I’m managing those timber trees for one job: grow the straightest, clearest, most valuable sawlogs possible.
The nut planting is shorter term, we’ll see income in 10-15 years, even if it’s minimal. My kids will inherit peak-producing trees. The annual income isn’t huge, but it’s steady, it requires reasonable labor, and the more mature trees could possibly be compatible with livestock grazing. Right now, the market prices for nuts is not great, but with improved cultivars such as UMCA® ‘Hickman’, hopefully they can improve.
The Compromise Option (If You Must)
If you’re committed to a compromise approach, here’s the least-bad version:
Plant at 30×30 spacing with seedlings or mixed genetics (cheaper than improved cultivars). Plan a hard thinning at year 20-25, removing every other tree for lumber income. The remaining trees at 60×30 spacing can develop crowns for nut production while still maintaining some timber value.
You’ll underperform a dedicated timber planting by 40-60% on timber quality. You’ll underperform a dedicated nut planting by 40-50% on nut yields. But you will get both, eventually.
1-acre numbers for this approach:
- 48 trees/acre x 1 acre = 48 trees
- Year 25 thinning: 24 trees at $800 each = $19,000
- Years 24-40 nut production: 60-120 pounds per tree, $200–425 annually
- Year 50 final timber harvest: 24 trees, mixed quality, maybe $10,000-16,000 total
It’s not terrible. It’s just not optimal as either option could be.
The Hidden Costs That Don’t Change
Whether you go timber, nuts, or compromise, budget for these realities:
Tree mortality: 10-15% loss in the first decade, even with good care.
Equipment: If you’re serious about nuts, you need a harvester ($2,500-8,000) and huller ($1,500-5,000). However, for the plot sizes I’ve described here, hand-harvesting is absolutely viable.
Wildlife: Squirrels, mice, and birds, and even black bears will take 20-30% of your nut crop. Factor this into your yield expectations.
Labor: Nut harvest is 10-20 hours per acre during the 3-4 week window. Timber harvest is a one-time event but requires professional loggers or mill buyers—budget 25-35% of gross value for harvest and transport.
Juglone: Black walnut roots produce juglone, which is toxic to tomatoes, peppers, azaleas, pines, and other species. But it’s fine with most grasses, forages, and livestock.
Which Option is for Me?
If someone asked me today whether to plant for nuts or timber, here’s what I’d say:
Plant for timber if: You’ve got 20+ years until you need income from the trees, you’ve got at least a few acres to dedicate (more is usually better for a timber sale), you’re comfortable with the long timeline, and you want to build legacy wealth. Use Purdue #1 or similar select cultivar, plant at around 12×12 foot spacing, and manage for clear stems.
Plant for nuts if: You want income within 15 years, you’re willing to invest in harvest equipment or time for manual harvest, you can manage a more intensive annual operation, and you want the trees integrated with livestock or other enterprises. Use UMCA® ‘Hickman’ or other improved nut cultivars, plant at 40×40 spacing, and let them branch.
Do the compromise if: You’ve got limited acreage, you genuinely need both income streams, and you accept that you’re trading optimal performance for flexibility.
But whatever you do, don’t plant a timber cultivar at 40×40 spacing hoping for nuts, and don’t plant a nut cultivar at 12×12 spacing hoping for veneer. You will very likely be disappointed every single year, with a pinnacle of disappointment at timber harvest time. Ouch.
Black walnut can be a profitable long-term investment with Midwest ground, but only if you’re honest with yourself about what you’re actually trying to accomplish. Pick your goal. Match your cultivar. Manage accordingly.
Your 2065 self—or your kids—will thank you for the clarity.
Planning your own walnut planting? Want to talk through spacing, cultivar selection, or real-world costs in your area? Drop a comment below or reach out. We’re figuring this out in real-time on our own farm and happy to share what we’re learning.
Growing Black Walnut for Nut Production: Orchard Establishment and Early Management – University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry – Agroforestry In Action – AF1022 2022
Black Walnut Plantation Management – Beineke, Walter F., Purdue Cooperative Extension Service – FNR-199
‘Marking a Milestone- Mizzou Center for Agroforestry patents first black walnut cultivar’ article in: UMCA Annual Report 2025.
Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I use or would use on my own farm. Read my full disclosure policy.