Tasmanian walnuts harvest season begins strongly

THE wait is over for anyone hanging out for some new season Tasmanian walnuts as harvesting has started in the southern and eastern growing areas.

Phil and Jane Dening begin the walnut harvest at their Richmond property. Picture: Eddie Safarik

THE wait is over for anyone hanging out for some new season Tasmanian walnuts as harvesting has started in the southern and eastern growing areas.

Phil and Jane Dening run Coaldale Walnuts at Richmond and started harvesting this year’s crop on Wednesday.

Mr Dening said it had been a mixed season so far, with moisture in spring causing some disease challenges and a very hot and dry summer causing some sunburn.

“Because of that we won’t get the high end of the yields, but we’ll still get average production,” he said.

Mr Dening has been involved in the walnut industry for just over two decades and their farm has about 1500 trees spread across 4ha.

Harvesting will continue for
another month and Mr Dening said they are expecting yields of about
2 tonnes per hectare.

Phil and Jane Dening begin the walnut harvest at their Richmond property. Picture: Eddie Safarik

He said demand for Tasmanian nuts was strong and about three quarters of their crop had already been sold.

“A lot of people can't wait to get the new seasons nuts so that’s why we’ve had so many inquiries.

“The fresh nuts taste really sweet and we ran out of last season back in October, so people haven’t had them since then.”

The Denings have an on-farm cracking facility and sell about 40 to 45 per cent of their nuts in shell with the rest sold as kernels.

Some are picked earlier in the season for pickled walnuts.

On Tasmania’s East Coast at the Webster Limited orchards picking started about two weeks ago.

Orchard manager Rodney Jones said it had been an ideal season for walnuts, with a lack of rain resulting in little disease pressure.

“It was a little bit challenging as far as irrigation goes,” he said.

“Water was a bit stretched, but we got through.”

After an exceptional season last year, Mr Jones said this one was nearly as good.

The company has about 400ha of walnut orchards in the state with about 95 per cent of those on the East Coast. Production is expected to average about five tonnes a hectare.

About 40 people in the harvest team work shifts around the clock.

“We had about 17mm of rain just before harvest, which was ideally timed because it has softened up the hulls so they are coming off easily.”

After being cleaned and de-hulled the nuts are transported to the
company’s main operation in NSW for processing.

Mr Jones said Tasmania's long growing season allowed it to produce high quality and large nuts that are also a nice light colour.

Originally published as Tasmanian walnuts harvest season begins strongly