Donovan Family Investments: Queensland avocado grower sees big growth potential in exports

In what he describes as his “toughest” year yet, this tech-savvy Queensland avocado grower is planning for ambitious growth.

For more than 30 years the Donovan family has been growing avocados in central Queensland.

From a small 40ha orchard in 1991, the business has blossomed and they are now one of the largest growers in Australia with a total 650ha under tree crops.

The Donovan Family Investments – which this year was awarded the grower of the year at the Hort Connections 2022 National Awards for Excellence – has 110,000 trees producing about 6000 tonnes of fruit annually, which is expected to double in the next five years. They also farm 30,000 macadamia trees.

Queensland avocado growers Lachlan Donovan and his son, Clay, on one of their orchards. Picture: John Wilson

Growth has spawned business offshoots including marketing arm The Avolution, which exports 20 per cent of their product to South East Asia and the Middle East, in addition to avocados from other growers across Australia.

On the back of such success, it’s surprising to hear even Lachlan Donovan concludes 2022 has been an underwhelming year for growers, on the back of low prices and high volumes.

“The last 12 months have been the toughest we’ve seen in the 30 years we’ve been doing it,” Lachlan said.

So it speaks volumes about their business philosophy that Lachlan sees this moment as a ripe opportunity for industry growth.

The 57-year-old has just returned from a trip to Asia Fruit Logistica in Thailand where he held meetings with exporters.

He said with Australian growers currently exporting 10 per cent of avocados, the most in our trade history, exports were set to expand.

“The biggest problem has been the Australian market has been short of fruit, not enough to supply both domestic and international,” Lachlan said.

“Now we have more fruit in Australia than the market can handle and so we can compete internationally. That will see a global average price.

“Australian fruit is well regarded. Once we get access to markets, quality fruit can expect a premium. We will need a critical mass. How much is a critical mass, I don’t know.”

Queensland avocado growers Lachlan and Annaleise Donovan with son Miles and his wife, Emma, and son Clay and his wife, Ashley, receiving their grower of the year award at Hort Connections. Picture: Supplied

Lachlan said the biggest market was India, with a largely vegetarian customer base, and he was confident government negotiations between the two countries could open exports by next year.

As a former board member of Australian Avocados for 13 years, Lachlan helped write the guide for growing the perfect avocado for export markets.

He said with an increase in orchard plantings across Australia, growers could now be investing in methods to get quality fruit into overseas markets, including increasing cold rooms, and maximising packaging in export containers.

“There are a whole heap of little things to look at in order to maximise returns,” he said.

The Donovans walk their talk.

Lachlan works with his wife Annaleise and sons Miles and Clayton in the business, overseeing 100 employees.

The family is based out of Bundaberg, where they moved in 1997 from their initial Maleny farm, which was started in 1991 by Lachlan’s parents, Gordon and Jenny.

“Our philosophy from the beginning was spend money to make money,” he said.

“It’s about analysing your business and investing in the future, making sure you do all the work beforehand, and it’s important to work with the right partners.

“Everything we invested in was designed to bring a better income. We would look at opportunities and analyse whether it was the right fit for us. So it has grown from trees in the ground through to the chain of supply and export.”

The Donovan family in their packing facility, from left, Clay, Miles with his son Huey and Lachlan. Picture: Supplied

Their orchards grow 80 per cent hass and 20 per cent Shepard avocados, with 80 per cent of product sold domestically through The Avolution into major supermarkets, food service and wholesalers.

“We set up Avolution (10 years ago) because we were selling fruit at the busiest time of the year and we couldn’t allocate enough of our time and effort to maximise returns.

“So together with another grower, we set it up to maximise value. If there are any problems we hear about it and fix it. It removed the disconnect.”

They established their main packing facility six years ago at Isis Central, southwest of Bundaberg, where they pack their own fruit. Half the operation also packs for other growers including citrus and tomatoes.

The Donovans have established a business offshoot, Horti-IT, which implements technology on their own farm and for about 20 other farmer clients a year.

Lachlan said they had installed the latest technology throughout the orchard, from vision grading each piece of fruit through to full traceability with customer QR codes.

“So when a customer scans the QR code in Asia we can see where it has been scanned.”

In-orchard technology includes hundreds of water probes, smart irrigation and employee scanning, while cameras take photos of trees every day at the same time.

“So over a couple of years we can see how the tree is flowering, what the fruit is doing, and analyse it’s entire growth,” Lachlan said.

Technology also tracks tractor operations, such as the speed and rate of fertiliser or chemical application on orchards.

“We can see where all the machinery is so we can apply variable rates and adjust according to when the soil type changes or a tree ages, for example,” he said.

Avocados in the Donovan family's packing facility. Picture: Supplied

In the past year, the Donovans became the first horticulture enterprise to be accredited through both Fair Farms and Reef Certification, voluntary programs of industry body Growcom, which demonstrate environmental stewardship and ethical employment practices, including the management of topsoil, fertiliser and pesticide use, and irrigation practices.

Lachlan said they hoped this month to also become officially carbon neutral, achieved by boosting carbon reserves in the soil through tree growth, mulching and pruning, as well as hay and compost to sequester carbon.

The family also grows macadamia trees – with nuts supplied to Macadamias Australia in Bundaberg – as an opportunistic crop.

“Avocados require well-drained soil. Some areas of our farms are good avocado country, some are good macadamia country and other sites we have them as a rotational crop with avocado trees in a 30-year planting cycle.”

Lachlan is loathe to blow his own trumpet, and reluctantly admits he’s about to travel to South Australia to represent the Queensland state team in over-50s men’s cricket.

“You’ve got to enjoy life as well,” he said.