In A Nutshell Autumn 2026 | Page 8

INDUSTRY NEWS

ABA creates Spotify podcast and playlist for 2026 harvest

Melina Mueller from Walker Flat Almonds with her favourite harvesting machine, Peter the runner.
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THE almond industry’ s workforce
Episodes are released on Thursdays,
grows significantly at this time of the
with the following available now:
year, with extra hands recruited to
Episode 1 – One of the first almond
help with harvest.
farms to start harvesting each year is
While this work is mechanised, it
Outback Almonds, on the Darling River,
means that most people are sitting in
north of Wentworth in New South Wales.
machinery for long hours and working
In addition to running an almond
alone.
orchard, Tom and Teagan
It prompted the Almond Board
Douglas are also very active in
of Australia to create a podcast
the agritourism space, providing
called Shake, Rattle and Roll so
accommodation on farm and
workers sitting in shakers, sweepers,
hosting events throughout the year,
conditioners or pick ups can meet
including a very popular dinner in
others who are passionate about the
the blossom in August.
industry.
Educating people about how almonds
There are many ways that people
are produced is all part of the
begin their careers in almonds.
experience they provide for guests.
Some are generational farming
Episode 2- Michael Clements and his
families, others were backpackers
family at Langhorne Creek have been
travelling around Australia who never
growing and processing almonds on
made it back to their homeland and
the same property for more than 100
then there’ s a committed group that
years.
come out of retirement each year to
Learn about how almond harvesting
work the almond harvest.
has changed over this time.
In A Nutshell- Autumn 2026 Vol 27 Issue 1
Tom, Tegan, Harriet, Charlie and Will Douglas from Outback Almonds feature in the first episode of Shake, Rattle and Roll.
Episode 3 – Melina Mueller is an emerging leader with a sense of fun. At Walker Flat Almonds in South Australia’ s Murraylands every piece of machinery has a name. It all started with Brutus and Eleanor. These days there’ s references to characters from Toy Story, Super