Property profile: Beerwah

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Beerwah is one of two mature macadamia orchards, located in southeast Queensland that were acquired by the Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) in December 2021.

The Beerwah orchard is located near the township of Beerwah in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, with views of the Glasshouse Mountains. The property has over 340 hectares of orchards, or approximately 137,000 trees, with three main varieties.

Since acquisition, RFM has implemented a pruning and orchard floor regeneration program. Pruning work has allowed additional light into the orchard which has resulted in improved tree growth and nut production. Increased light also improves interrow grass growth which mitigates water run-off and erosion. The pruning program also aims to increase efficiency when harvesting, spraying, mowing and conducting other operational activities.

The harvest at the Beerwah orchard this year started in March and is expected to run through to September. During harvest, tree shakers and sweepers are used to collect nuts which are then de-husked at an on-farm processing plant. The husks are combined with grass, woodchip and manure to make compost, which serves as a valuable input for soil improvement at the orchard. After de-husking, the nuts are trucked to Bundaberg or Lismore to be processed by Marquis Macadamias.