INDUSTRY NEWS
Harvesting almonds in the Goulburn Valley
THE inaugural almond harvest at Australia ’ s most eastern and southern orchard is underway . Of the 425 hectares of almonds goFarm has planted at Katunga ( near Shepparton , Victoria ), 207 hectares are being harvested this year . The general manager of Sandmount Farms Nick Raleigh said the company is very happy with the yield and quality of the crop . “ It ’ s a really pleasing and encouraging result given it ’ s the first harvest and a completely new district for the industry ,” he said . “ The orchard floor is really nice and the samples are clean .” At the end of February the company was 75 per cent through shaking . Mr Raleigh said they ’ ve been doing a lot of learning along the way and might have shaken one of the varieties too early . All of the almonds being grown by goFARM are self-fertile . Bees are used to help pollinate the orchards , but Mr Raleigh said the stocking rate is substantially lower than the industry standard . Roughly 70 per cent of the plantings are Shasta and there ’ s around 10 per cent of Carina , Vela and Pyrenees . Carina was harvested first , followed by Shasta . The Pyrenees harvest is expected to start in mid-March and Mr Raleigh concedes Vela might be too late for this region . Growing almonds in Victoria ’ s Goulburn Valley could present a few challenges for goFARM .
“ Frost risk at flowering , wet winters / orchards with wet feet and rain at harvest are the big three issues that can do significant damage ,” Mr Raleigh said . The orchards have been built on sandy loam soils that drain well . “ A tremendous amount of work was put into orchard design , earthworks and drainage ,” Mr Raleigh said . Katunga ’ s average rainfall is 450 millimetres , but since goFARM has planted almonds the district has had its three wettest years . “ In 2022 , 850 millimetres of rain fell and 550 millimetres of that was after June , so we ’ ve tested our sites and our orchards to the highest degrees in terms of coping with wet conditions ,” Mr Raleigh said . Despite all the wet weather goFARM hasn ’ t had any tree deaths . While some farms have struggled to apply sprays because their orchards were inaccessible , Mr Raleigh said that hasn ’ t been the case at Katunga . In six to seven years goFARM plans to have 3,800 hectares of almonds at Sandmount Farms . In winter another 570 hectares of almonds will be planted and Mr Raleigh said the company intends to keep developing an area every year . “ We have high conviction in the merits of being in the industry long term ,” he said . “ We have a very high quality landbank , secure water entitlements , are upstream of the Barmah Choke , with people and towns nearby .”
industry . australianalmonds . com . au
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