hanabeth luke and kerrie stimpson - macadamia grower aspirations and challenges in the northern...

Macadamia grower aspirations and challenges in the Northern Rivers

Prepared by: Hanabeth Luke & Kerrie Stimpson

Southern Cross University

15 October 2014

2014 AMS 40th Anniversary Industry Conference proudly presented by

Southern Cross University Study

AIM: To enable the AMS to better understand the needs of macadamia orchard owners in order to inform future strategic development

Objectives:

1. To obtain a clear profile of macadamia growers and their farms2. To gather information about growers’ farming practices3. To identify the key influences on farming practices4. To ascertain the motivations and barriers towards adopting new practices


Methods

1st survey implementation

Categorisation into groups

Focus group meeting

2nd qualitative survey


Methods

153 macadamia orchard owners responded to the initial survey

103 completed the survey

Comparable sample with

Benchmarking study


Who are our growers?

A diverse group of people!

Group 1: SELLINGWithin 5 years

Group 2: WANT/NEED SUPPORTFeel they are making ends meet but little more or going backwardsMay have plans to make changes but changes haven’t happened yet

Group 3: ESTABLISHED & SATISFIEDGenerally satisfied with productivityExperience lucrative returnsGenerally have previous macadamia experience


Who are our growers?

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

Age >65 47% 31% 45%

Productivity NIS

(tonnes/hectare)

2.59 2.39 3.13

Farm work/week 36 hours 36 hours 40 hours

Experience with other

macadamia orchards

16% 4% 73%

Lifestyle choice 17% 65% 55%

Satisfied with productivity 31% 8% 50%


Demographic information

Gender Age

Male88%

Female 12%

36 – 5529%

18 -35 3%

56 – 6532%

Over 6536%


Farm Management

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%


Experience

No previous experience

42%

macadamia orchards

21%

other types of farming

37%

Other experience included:

- Accountancy- Management- Marketing


Year of farm purchase

2006

2002

1989, 2000, 2012


Orchard owners

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Your orchard is your main source of income

You enjoy macadamia farming

You are a 2nd or 3rd generation farmer

Your macadamia orchard is an investment

Macadamia farming is a lifestyle choice


Current situation

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Satisfied with orchard's productivity

Pursuing new information to increase productivity

Implemented changes in last 2 years

Plan to make changes, haven't yet

Plan to pass orchard onto family

Building up orchard value for sale

Difficult time, hope situation will improve

Going backwards financially due to orchard


Plans for sale

Plans for sale Time frame for sale

Undecided19% Yes

35%

No 46%

< 2 years34%

2 – 5 years34%

5 – 10 years23%

> 10 years9%


Reasons for sale

Financial reasons related to orchard

15%

Non financial reasons

85%


Orchard health

% ground cover Canopy management1 – 25%

9%

51 – 75%34%

26 – 50%16%

76 - 100%41%

Never10%

2 – 5 years9%

Less than 2 years81%


Productivity and canopy management

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Never 2 – 5 years ago

< 2 years ago

Tonnes/hectare

Last undertook canopy management


Greatest challenges


Disappointments

• In addition to weather impacts during harvest time:

• Unreliable kernel prices

• Loss of yield from certain varieties

– “The "A" strains promised much, but have their problems. A4 needs branches removed to let light into the tree, and A16 tends to have sticktights, although both produce very good yields even if the Kgs are down.”


Important considerations

• Soil quality

• Tree health• canopy management to improve light penetration

• Sustainability


Grower achievements

• Increased productivity• Strategies to improve orchard floor management

• Boosting soil health

• Soil management and rehabilitation focused on nutrition, drainage and ground cover• Reduced erosion


Aspirations

Planned changes and investments

• Improved fertiliser application regimes • Complimented by more monitoring

• Canopy management• Tree removal programs

• Soil nutrition = high priority• Increased sustainability of orchards

• Increase in use of organic fertilisers

• Development of infrastructure • Increased mechanisation


Advice for new or struggling farmers

• New farmers: talk to other growers, visit as many farms as possible– Don’t underestimate time and resources

required

• Struggling farmers: try leasing or engaging in share farming

• Overall focus on careful planning and debt minimisation from the outset

• Setting clear expectations of why they wished to own a macadamia orchard

• When offering advice:– Support Group more likely to suggest seeking

external assistance– Established Group place larger emphasis on

individual responsibility, decision making and careful planning


Information sources used

• Most useful for new techniques

– AMS

– Other growers

– Processors

• Group differences– Selling Group and Support Group most commonly used other growers as

a primary information source

– Established Group reported to read more widely including emphasis on keeping up to date on research

• within the industry

• cross-industry research


Role of AMS• Instigation and sharing of research

• Facilitate communication and representation

– Inside and outside of the society, especially between growers

– Important role to play as a strong advocate for the industry

for example to: “…create a closer "level playing field" with tariff reductions in neighbouring markets, trade agreements that benefit our industry.”

• Leading role in making the macadamia industry more sustainable

• Satisfaction with current AMS strategies

• Differing views regarding marketing

• Support for more farmer-led research for strategic direction

(role of this study)


Industry improvements

• More research and development into new varieties and pest control (especially lacebug)• Replace banned pesticides, e.g. beneficial insect

populations

• More effective web-based learning and interaction• More organic processing options (especially for smaller

farms)• More casual/informal help available (as well as the

structured help available now)

• Regular get-togethers with other farmers and experts• Mentorship between experienced growers and newer

growers

• A macadamia-nut week


Summary

• The majority of growers are continuing to invest time and money into maintaining and improving their orchards

• Primary driver for orchard sale based on factors other than financial stress

• The AMS remains an important source of up to date information, but needs to continually aspire to better integrate grower-led strategies & research

Note: although kernal price was not a huge topic brought up by the surveys, it was a significant topic of discussion in the focus group

hanabeth luke and kerrie stimpson - macadamia grower aspirations and challenges in the northern...

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