Macadamia farm
7,500 macadamia trees in our Summerland Farm orchards produce around 120 tonnes of nuts a year – that’s a lot of nuts!
Macadamias are native to the North Coast of NSW, where warm temperatures, high rainfall, and fertile volcanic soil formed millions of years ago make an ideal growing climate.
Make sure you drop by The Grocer to pick some nuts for yourself, or experience the orchards on our tractor tour and see how they’re grown.
Did you know?
The macadamia is a tough little nut to crack. Its shell is the toughest of all nuts and for those who like to crack their own, our Grocer stocks the perfect cracker to help you enjoy them!
The harvest
Harvesting macadamias is easy to do. From April to September, the ripe nuts fall from the tree and can be picked up from the ground.
Although the harvest sounds like a breeze, the macadamia is still the most expensive nut in the world because each tree only produces a limited number of the precious nuts each year.
The macadamia tree’s enemy
The black rat is the most destructive of all the pests for macadamia trees.
These sneaky creatures will gnaw through the hard shells then lie on their backs to remove the kernel, so removing feeding and nesting options around the trees to discourage them is the best way to control these cheeky pests!
Cracking those shells
The dehusking machine at Summerland Farm is pretty tricky and makes light work of cracking the tough outer shell of the macadamia.
This state of the art technology takes over 100 photos in microseconds, using digital imagery to sort the nuts by grade and quality.
Did you know?
Of the seven species of macadamia trees, only two grow edible nuts and the others can cause cyanide poisoning if eaten! Luckily, ours are edibly delicious!
More to see and do
Tractor tour
Jump on board our tractor tour to explore the macadamia and avocado orchards, and put your feet up as you learn about fascinating local history and the agricultural practices on the farm.
