hanabeth luke and kerrie stimpson - macadamia grower aspirations and challenges in the northern...
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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
2014 AMS 40th Anniversary Industry Conference proudly presented by
Methods
1st survey implementation
Categorisation into groups
Focus group meeting
2nd qualitative survey
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Methods
153 macadamia orchard owners responded to the initial survey
103 completed the survey
Comparable sample with
Benchmarking study
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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
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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%
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Demographic information
Gender Age
Male88%
Female 12%
36 – 5529%
18 -35 3%
56 – 6532%
Over 6536%
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Farm Management
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
2014 AMS 40th Anniversary Industry Conference proudly presented by
Experience
No previous experience
42%
macadamia orchards
21%
other types of farming
37%
Other experience included:
- Accountancy- Management- Marketing
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Year of farm purchase
2006
2002
1989, 2000, 2012
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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
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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
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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%
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Reasons for sale
Financial reasons related to orchard
15%
Non financial reasons
85%
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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%
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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
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Greatest challenges
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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.”
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Important considerations
• Soil quality
• Tree health• canopy management to improve light penetration
• Sustainability
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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
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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
2014 AMS 40th Anniversary Industry Conference proudly presented by
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
2014 AMS 40th Anniversary Industry Conference proudly presented by
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
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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)
2014 AMS 40th Anniversary Industry Conference proudly presented by
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
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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
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