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Registration Form (PDF - 87KB) |
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About 50 people attended a very successful HGA Annual Conference, which was held at the Chestnut Hill conference centre in Kallista, in the Dandenong Ranges. The ranges have a climate that is well suited to growing hazelnuts and the garden of the conference centre provided a delightful background to the meeting as shown in the top left photo taken during our visit.
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Michael Waring, from MWT, provided an insider’s view on the marketing of nuts; we decided that it would be quite some time before hazelnut growers in Australia produce the quantities of nuts that MWT handles. In contrast, several growers outlined their own experiences in value-adding and direct-selling much smaller quantities. Other speakers talked about hazelnut production internationally, water management and supply, water requirements of hazelnuts, the basics of hazelnut growing, the effects of temperature on flowering, and organic growing of hazelnuts. The day finished with a superb dinner, accompanied by guitar and vocal entertainment. Many thanks are due to Justine and Anthony Merry, the local organisers, to Monbulk Rural Enterprises as sponsors, and to the owners and staff of the conference centre.
Justine and Anthony were the hosts on the following day, when we visited their nearby farm and hazelnut orchard, shown in the other three photos. Their trees are mostly mature Wanliss Pride, planted many years ago by a previous owner. The photo on the lower right shows Anthony with the group underneath the canopy of large trees. One tree provided a crop of 25 kg of hazelnuts recently. Again, many thanks to the Merrys for their hospitality.
The next conference is planned for early November 2009. Watch this space.
Copyright © 2012
Hazelnut Growers of Australia Inc.
A0050224L (Incorporated in Victoria)
