As the price for macadamia kernel continues its freefall, the country's largest processing co-operative Marquis has taken the unusual step of suspending final season harvest payments.
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the drastic move comes in the wake of supply outweighing demand due to a 20 per cent increase in global crop during 2022.
After committing to $3.80/kg earlier in the season and suggesting to member growers that the final payment could look more like $2.90, Marquis is now saying that until there is certainty in value all bets are off.
"In what has been a highly challenging year for the macadamia industry, Marquis Macadamias has made the difficult decision to suspend 2022 Nut-in-Shell (NIS) progress payments until the final 2022 NIS price can be confirmed," said Marquis chair Clayton Mattiazzi.
"Initial and catch-up payments for October and November 2022 deliveries will be made, but there will be no further progress payments made at this time."
Whether the price will go below $2.50/kg will be made clear in the new year.
Meanwhile, Australian Macadamia Society is considering lifting membership fees and will address the issue during an extraordinary meeting early in the new year.
Cost of inputs a management issue
The last time prices were this close to the cost of production input prices were much less, and pest pressure restricted.
However, growers who have purposely created a farm designed to work with a low-input system may be able to better weather the price storm without losing nut quality or orchard health.
Ross Arnett at Lindendale has shown that chemical fertilisers replaced with cover crops and amendments of chicken litter composted with wood chip - will produce profit.
Production is typical of the district at 3t/ha with a lot of trees not yet in full production.
Meanwhile his cost of establishment was less than half - $2784/ha at Malua Farm compared to $7202/ha for the average farm in the Northern Rivers district.
A former University of NSW scientific photographer and SoilCare board member, Mr Arnett says the key to his orchard model is managing it in a way that adds to its complex ecosystem rather than simplifying it.
"You just don't flick the switch to low inputs," he advised, and points to cover crops as a necessary first step.
"Seed is the cheapest fertiliser you can buy."
Mr Arnett also applies organic material twice a year. Semi-composted chicken manure just before flower initiation at 5t/Ha. Then in late November a chicken litter and wood chip mix from his own orchard thinnings, broken down to humus over a period of a year or more, at the rate of 7.5t/ha.
As a south facing block fungal disease like botrytis is a challenge, particularly in this wet year.
"But I refuse to use fungicides," he says. "Fungicides will have a detrimental effect on mycorrhizal fungi in the soil which is the network bacteria use to feed the plants via their roots.
Read more: Councils expose flood insurance failure.
Lower Clarence Valley farm establishment contractor Bruce Green advocates for his growers to maintain their fertiliser program despite the price downturn.
The wet harvest last year led to some lower than average yields and with the forecast downturn in price some growers are pulling back on inputs.
"That's the worst thing you can do," Mr Green said, advocating for the continuation of fertiliser programs.
"It can take three to four years to bring an orchard back to healthy production."
Mr Green and his team have planted 1000ha of macadamia trees on former sugar cane land. While immediate plans for new trees have tapered off following the price forecast, interest in the crop from investors remains strong.
Well managed farms that produced clean quality nut were able to tap into bonus premiums, bringing their base price from this most recent harvest of $3.80/kg to $4.45/kg.
"Most farms we deal with got $4.00/kg," he said. "That's still a good price."
On the floodplain pest pressure is vastly reduced compared to farms on the red soil near Alstonville.
The nut borer weevil made its first appearance last year and remains in small numbers managed with a spray of indoxacarb - an organophosphate replacement and so far the only chemical that controls the tough bug.
Flower fungus or botrytis that badly affected nut set on the red soil country last season, with 3000cm of rain the norm making it too wet to spray. However the problem was non-existent on the floodplain, where trees are smaller and air flow greater.
Some farms on the red soil plateau are using this time to reset their orchards, removing every second row to let in sunlight for improved ground cover and effective spray management.
The use of tree shakers in the Bundaberg area has shown these tools to provide better management outcomes by removing "stick-tights" and vectors for pest and disease.
Meanwhile, farms that have pecans planted to a portion of their property are finding they will make more money per hectare from these than from macadamias next harvest.
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