THE appetite among macadamia growers for new technology has helped shape the program for next year's national macadamia conference, AusMac 2022.
The event will be held from February 7 to 9, 2022 at the Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Qld.
Regarded as the largest macadamia conference in the world and hosted by the Australian Macadamia Society, the event will connect macadamia growers and industry professionals from all regions of Australia and the globe.
The program includes growers, researchers and industry experts sharing experiences and the latest results from key macadamia research, best practice, on-farm innovation and management.
The program comprises a mix of practical workshops and information sessions and a trade and machinery expo.
Topics covered include climate change, factors influencing total kernel recovery and profitability, South Africa, water use management, ecophysiology, cover and inter row crops, soil, pollination, technology and orchard establishment.
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Australian Macadamia Society chief executive officer Jolyon Burnett said it was an exciting time for the industry.
"We've hit 55,000 tonnes for the first time ever. We are planting at a rate we just haven't seen before; 3000 or 4000 hectares a year going in across all of the growing regions," Mr Burnett said.
"That, combined with the fact that growers just really haven't been able to get together and kick up their heels a bit, we're hoping we'll see a really good turnout and good participation."
Mr Burnett said there was a thirst among growers for innovation and techniques to push production to new heights.
"What COVID has shown us that even for a highly mechanised crop like macadamias, we are still dependent on labour even if it is for the higher level for decision makers and farm managers," he said.
"I continue to be blown away by the amount of sharing and helping that goes on in this industry."
Accompanying the information sessions will be several social events including a golf day, field trip, cocktail party, women in macadamias luncheon, happy hour, celebrity breakfast and gala dinner.
Mr Burnett encouraged those interested to get along to the conference.
"There is always information being shared between growers and that's a really exciting thing to see," he said.
"We find that the growers who participate in those pre-conference events, hit the ground running a bit more. They are already pumped up and have made some connections," he said.
He said while the organising committee was full of optimism for the event, it was keeping an eye on how the coronavirus Omicron variant was impacting travel and conferences.
Mr Burnett said even though everyone from NSW and Qld will be able to travel to the Gold Coast, the AMS was "a little bit nervous" about the impact of the variant.
- For more information or to register for AusMac 2022, visit: www.ivvy.com.au/event/AUSMAC2022/home.html
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Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
