Eastern Black Walnut trees have grown wild in mid-America for generations, producing a rich, distinctive walnut that people have gathered and cooked with for years.  In 1945, Ralph Hammons, who owned a small grocery store in Stockton, Mo., began buying Black Walnuts from local Ozarks people.  He shipped them to a company in Virginia, which later went out of business.  So in 1946 Ralph bought a cracking machine and began to sell his own "Missouri Dandy" Black Walnut nutmeats.

Demand for Ralph`s high-quality brand kept growing & it became the "Hammons" brand. The Hammons Products Company is still family-owned & now the world’s premier supplier of Black Walnut products. 

 

The vision for the Black Walnut industry has passed from Ralph Hammons to his son, Dwain, to grandson & company President, Brian, who is leading the business into the 21st century.

Every fall, people in the Midwest & East-Central United States gather the wild Black Walnuts by hand from their lawns & pastures; then sell them to local buyers for delivery to Hammons.  Individuals, families & community groups harvest Black Walnuts & everyone profits.  Last year Hammons purchased Black Walnuts from more than 250 buying locations in 12 states.  The nutmeats end up in recipes all over the United States.

While other trees are grown in orchards in many parts of the world, the best Black Walnuts are still hand-harvested in the heart of America.