The Saturday 17 July program, will begin with the formal AGM in the first part of the morning, followed by guest speakers and discussion regarding issues facing the industry and growers. This year our guest speakers are the co-authors of the book ‘Taming the Truffle’, Prof. Alessandra Zambonelli, from Italy and Dr Ian Hall, from New Zealand.

On Saturday night, 17 July, after the AGM and Information Day, a magnificent 6 course Degustation Truffle Dinner, with accompanying wines will be served, for $175/head, at the Highland Heritage Restaurant, under the guidance of the well known local Chef, Michael Manners. Numbers will be limited and it will be open to the public, so members would be wise to book early by email, via the following link Highland Heritage Estate Restaurant.

The Sunday 18 July program will start with a field visit (by bus) to a local 6000 tree truffiere followed by a workshop forum back at the Ex-Services club with guest speakers and discussion on grower issues.

The cost per head for the day programs is $55 per day and the full agenda for both days is available via the following link, Final-Agenda-2010

Bookings and payments are now being accepted for the AGM and Information day, the Field Trip/Workshop day. Please visit the 2010 AGM and Information Day Registration and Payment page for details and information on how to pay.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Association’s President’s Report set the tone for activities during the immediate future, reflecting on the need for the Association to increase its funding base in order to better promote the interests of members.

Guest Speaker Paul Miller, President of the Australian Olive Association Ltd provided an excellent set of interesting parallels between the olive and the truffle industries in his presentation entitled, An Effective Organisation for Quality and Marketing.

Mr Alan Nelson presented an interesting insight in to the activities of his company, The Wine and Truffle Company and provided comparisons with the industry. Alan is the newly appointed CEO of The Wine and Truffle Company of Western Australia, a welcome new member to the Australian Truffle Growers Association.

Further details of the two days’ events will be available later on the website and by bulletin to members.

There are benefits and drawbacks associated with an industry specific QA scheme. The most pertinent benefits raised by respondents are improved marketing opportunities to help producers of all sizes sell their product, stability and maintenance of prices and formation of  guidelines for best practice.  The most significant drawback raised was cost. In particular, the financial cost associated with implementation and the time required.

Two recent papers of interest are included below for your reference. The first is the study referred to above, QUALITY ASSURANCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN TRUFFLE INDUSTRY, being the work of Nathan Carter, a student of the University of Melbourne. The second is a paper from Dr Ian Hall of New Zealand, WHAT IS AN IDEAL TRUFFLE INFECTED PLANT, and refers particularly to tree supply. Dr Hall is one of the Authors’ of ‘Taming the Truffle’, a book available from this site.

The Wine & Truffle Co. was formed in 1997 and is now the largest commercial producer of black truffles in the Southern Hemisphere. They have a unique opportunity for a motivated individual to join the company and fulfil the role of Truffle Hunter and Dog Trainer at their Manjimup farm, responsible for the sourcing, training of truffle dogs as well as grading and dispatching of fresh truffles worldwide. The successful applicant will be a critical part of the team, following the launch of their daily truffle hunt experiences. Training will be provided in the truffle industry. The position is full time, based in Manjimup and will play a long term and important role in a growing company and market leader. Click here for more detail.

(The above truffle industry related advertisement is paid for by the supplier and the Association does not necessarily endorse the services, products or offers. Advertisements submitted for inclusion on the website must relate to the interests of the truffle industry and its stakeholders and will be accepted or rejected at the sole discretion of the Executive Committee. The inclusion of advertisements is a commercial transaction, at a cost of $50 for members and $100 for non members, payable in advance of the listing, and will be kept on the site for a period of one month from the first date of publication on the website. All copy is to be provided by the supplier and all responses are to be managed by the advertiser.)

It is understood that some growers may not wish to reveal management practices and yields but we ask that you fill in both the Weekly Survey and the Background Information Survey, (click to open) as accurately and completely as possible, so we can assess the extent of the problem. If we are to establish an industry approach to production and marketing issues, it is imperative that we have accurate and complete information to ensure the most beneficial outcomes for the whole industry.

We encourage your full support and prompt reply to the survey. Please send your completed surveys to newindustries@rirdc.gov.au or mail them to ‘RIRDC Truffle Rot Survey’, PO Box 4776, Kingston, ACT, 2604.

As the primary form of data collection, Nathan has developed a descriptive industry-based questionnaire. The research has been granted human ethics approval by the University and participants remain anonymous. The research has the full support of the Association and the results of the will be made available to members at the conclusion of the study.

We encourage your support in this research, by completing the questionnaire located on the University’s website via the following link, Truffle Quality Questionnaire. Please click to open. Please note that the questionnaire is identical to that available in hard copy at the conference in Tasmania on July 25th/26th. Please complete the Questionnaire only once. If you have a completed a hard copy, these can be mailed to Nathan directly at P.O. Box 364, Gembrook, Vic, 3783.