More than 4,900 hectares of almond orchards were planted in 2016 in Australia, with another 15,000 currently being planted or planned to go in over the coming season or two. This rate of expansion is unprecedented, and is leading to a number of challenges, not least finding qualified and competent managers for these developments.
I have been closely involved with a large new planting in the Riverland region of South Australia, supporting preparation of the budgets and work plans, as well as helping supervise the nurseries and other aspects of the development.
This has been hugely rewarding, and we are now entering the exciting stage of this development, with planting to start in the next few weeks.