Nuts head to the sea

Boosting supply to meet fast-growing consumer demand for macadamia nuts, particularly to Asia in the wake of historic Free Trade Agreements, is now the number one challenge facing the big North Eastern NSW-based horticulture industry.

Progressive growers are thinking outside the square and tapping into the potential of coastal sugar cane flats, using cutting-edge tree grafting and planting technology, and pioneering management practices.

The shift has been led by former sugar producers, the Dorey family - six brothers who, despite being constantly told macadamia trees would die on coastal floodplain country, have successfully converted cane flats to nuts at "Plantation Lorna", Knockrow, more than doubling their per hectare profitability in the process.

Drawing on the Dorey brother's willingly-shared lessons, two growers with macadamia farms in the more traditional areas, Ben Zietsman and Joof Albert, have set up a 50-hectare orchard on former sugar country at Empire Vale, south of Ballina.

Cane was pulled out and "Flat Mac" was laser levelled, drained and then 600 millimetre mounds were formed for tree rows.

Using new micrografting technology, which allows macadamia trees to be ready in six months rather than the conventional two years and means they are likely to start producing earlier, the two growers planted 3900 trees and will plant another 6000 from this month (February.)

"What is very encouraging is that last season we had 300mm in 30 hours on the farm and within 12 hours, all the water had drained," Mr Zietsman said.

Coastal country is a third of the price of the more typical horticulture areas of the Northern Rivers.

The loamy, sandy soils also facilitate the growing of smaller trees, which eliminates canopy management issues, without yield losses.

The tree farm right on the beach is being watched with great interest by both nut growers looking to expand and cane growers looking to diversify.