Australian Truffle Grower's Association

The Report by the President of the Association to the Annual general meeting is now available for those interested to review the work of the Association to date.

Also available are some interesting articles concerning truffles in Australia from the Canberra Times Newspaper by reporters Kirsten Lawson and Rosslyn Beeby, for the information of members and interested readers.

President’s Report

1. December meeting and outcome.

An Inaugural General Meeting and Information Day was held on the 9 the of December 2006 and open to existing and prospective members. The primary purpose was to assess the members wishes for the direction of the Association.

The meeting was ask for a written response to the question:

‘What are the 3 most important things the Association could address for growers?’ -

Results were grouped and summarized under the following headings and listed in order of frequency of response;

Website, Networks for communication (36 items 26%)
Information (22 items 16%)
Marketing (22 items 16%)
Research and Development (14 items 10%)
Quality Control (12 items 9%)
Govt. support for regulation of the industry /Ethics/Legal (12 items 9%)
Dogs for harvesting (11 items 8%)
Promotion of the Product (6 items 4%)
Education and training (3 items 2%)

The items are ranked as an indication of the priority given to the item by the members.

2. Work done since December.

The Mission and Vision statement has been refined from the results of the December meeting and after reference to the work of other grower associations. The end result is as follows:

The Australian Truffle Growers Association
MISSION STATEMENT
By 2015, the truffle industry will:

• be a profitable, environmentally sustainable and significant industry across Australia in terms of production,
• produce high quality truffles that are sought after in Australia and internationally, and
• meet a strongly expanding market both in Australia and internationally that reflects the recognition of the quality of the Australian truffle.

The Australian Truffle Growers’ Association will support all truffle growers in seeking to grow the WORLD’S BEST TRUFFLES.

VISION

The Australian Truffle Growers’ Association is the representative association of truffle growers, formed to consolidate and progress the truffle industry in Australia. Its aims are to ensure growers are informed, facilitate uniformity and consistency in all aspects of truffle production and marketing, be that quality, varieties, packaging, promotion or pest and disease management.
OBJECTIVES
The key objectives identified from the December workshop were to provide a forum:
where Association members, associates and industry stakeholders can freely express their views;

• to address the needs of growers and consumers in the production of high quality truffles;
• to act on behalf of the members and associates, to mitigate adverse situations and promote positive situations affecting the industry;
• to provide, by donation, research, information, or any other means approved, assistance in any matters or things likely to benefit the Association or its members in the growing, marketing and selling of Australian truffles;
• to affiliate with, or become a member of, any organisation, whether established in Australia or elsewhere, that is considered in the interests of the Association;
• to apply for, promote and obtain any provisional order or act of Parliament, lease, licence, right or authority to enable the Association to carry out its objects and/or for the purposes of obtaining for the Association or its members any additional powers or protection or to be expedient in the interests of the Association or its members, and
• to examine and scrutinise all legislation affecting the industry and initiate any lawful steps, either directly or indirectly, to alleviate the results of existing or future legislation and to act to prevent the passing of any legislation, which may be considered to inflict damage on the industry.
• to improve the adoption of sustainable production systems and implementation of Best Management Practices

Towards a Strategic Plan – Australian Truffle Industry 2007-2015

3. Where Are We Now

We currently have 57 members and 16 of those are associates, either non growers but in the industry or growers waiting to plant. We estimate that the current membership represents about half the growers Australia wide and they manage approximately 250Ha or close to 100,000 trees, (at 400 trees/Ha), so the estimated total area planted is 400 to 500 Ha across Australia. We also estimate that the current harvest in Australia will be about 500kg, or 1/2 tonne, this year and therefore we have the potential to be producing from 10 to 20 tonnes in 5 years time valued at up to $40 million. That is getting close to the estimated total French production and is a little frightening, if we are to be on top of quality and have a good marketing plan in place. We cannot afford to have the industry wrong footed on quality issues, not for the local market but especially for export. We have to address these issues in the Association.

From data we have the average grower has about 1000 trees (or 2.5 Ha), but the majority have 1 to 2 Ha. We have no figures but people are talking about organics. No one is sure if organic truffles will get the premium they demand and it will depend on how they are presented and marketed?

We have members from South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, the ACT but none as yet from WA or Qld. Generally there is good support and increasing interest. We get about 7 enquiries a week regarding truffles, so the site seems to be working reasonably well.

4. Meeting with the RIRDC.

Vice President Tim Terry and I met with John Oakeshott the Senior Research Manager and June Murphy, the Program Coordinator for New Industries, in the Canberra offices of RIRDC on Friday 27 April 2007. We were warmly received and had a good meeting explaining the development of the Association to date. We continued with a ready and informative exchange of views on how we might progress the organisation as a truly Australia wide Association and how RIRDC might assist with ideas, research funding and referrals to the appropriate Government organisations for support. These include the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Horticulture Australia Ltd.

RIRDC advised that they have moved from being production driven to being Market driven, (while still recognising the need for assistance with production). They would like to see the Association have a Strategic Plan with priorities and mentioned the DAFF Advancing Agricultural Industries, offering grant funds for the preparation of a report that could assess the current state of the industry and set directions for its future growth. This would allow the Association to work with the consultants and growers on identifying research and development priorities. RIRDC offered to assist us in the preparation of the strategic plan. We have presented a submission to apply for funding under the DAFF program.

We were provided with a full listing of the RIRDC research work but it comprised only 3 papers relating to truffles. We are continuing to research available information with the assistance of members. The RIRDC staff suggested we consider a specific grower manual to assist people in getting off on the right track, (the Olive Association have one and sell it for $25). If we move in this direction we may need to seek funding support for the preparation of the manual. I would urge members also to submit items for inclusion on the website, or in the Q&A section, if they are not comfortable in posting them in the members section.

RIRDC concluded the meeting by saying they would be very pleased to see the Association develop as the peak industry group for the truffle industry and would support us in that regard. This should be a stated aim of the Association.

RIRDC have also generously supported us with funding to represent the Association at the NZTA AGM on 23 and 24 June, just last month, to strengthen our links with the NZ industry, and also at the WA Truffle Festival, to be held in early August in Mundaring just east of Perth. We wish to carry the message of the benefits of an Australia wide Truffle Association to our WA colleagues. RIRDC have also kindly supported us in the information aspects of the Annual general Meeting activities. It was a pleasure to welcome the representatives of RIRDC here today.

5. Discussion with DAFF.

Discussions have been held with DAFF staff regarding the Industry Stocktake Program and they have indicated a positive response to our request for assistance under the program. The aim would be to assess the current state of the industry and assist in setting priorities for the industry and the Association. We have submitted the application forms ahead of the closing date of 27 July 2007.

6. Links with The NZ Truffle Association

The Australian Truffle Growers Association and the New Zealand Truffle Association Executives have held discussions regarding closer links between the two Associations and this will be further explored over the next several months. The NZTA held its AGM in Nelson, South Island, 23-24 June and I attended the meeting, where aspects of the closer links were discussed and can be discussed at the AGM today. It has already been agreed that the respective Presidents will be automatically members of the other Association, in order that association business can be readily shared.

One matter of mutual interest will be truffle export quality. Also both countries share the same independent food standards statutory agency, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). NZ is lucky that they have a legislated control over truffle export quality through the New Zealand Horticultural Export Authority.

It is apparent that neither side may wish to share research and development outcomes, but it is certain that a trickle of information, that is not regarded as sensitive, will begin to flow for the benefit of all members of both Associations.

Quality is definitely an issue that NZ is happy to work on with us and they too have experienced variations in quality based geographical output but it has not been documented. They have also had premature rot and sunburn affect quality. Poor quality or damaged product should still have a market for inoculations and for loca sales. The NZTA can set industry standard for export (Horticultural Export Authority NZ) but have no control for domestic quality. This si shown on the website in the members forum.

There are an estimated 100 truffieres in NZ with maybe less than a total of 100 Ha but this is expected to increase over the next few years.

There has been some renewed interest in electronic detection devices for truffles. A NZ University is working on an extremely sensitive electronic sniffer for detecting diseases in humans from the breath and is now down the size of a book. Could this be adapted by the Truffle industry for quality issues?

It has also been agreed that the 2 Associations have a policy of ‘No Surprises’ but that doesn’t run to any sporting matters.

7. Issues of quality for produce.

There has been some worrying mumbling from food exporters in regard to truffle export quality leaving Australia. This is a worry for all members, as it has the potential to affect us all. We as an industry, have to have a view on how we manage it. The mumbling is quite current and concerns the export of questionable product under the heading of ‘Australian Truffles’. This has the potential of giving the ‘Australian Truffle’ a bad name.
It is important to have all growers thinking about quality, as it has the very real potential to be a commercial problem, especially where truffles are coming from different climatic zones across Australia, possibly affected by insects and slugs and from difficult soil types. Time and volume will cure the standards issue and consumers will demand high quality products, irrespective of where they come from. However, the worry is the reputation of all Australian truffles during this evolution!

The Association has to be highly active in the problem of quality and we will be seeking support from government on this. Our NZ colleagues have legislation supporting export quality for truffles. We need quality grading standards and we need to understand the variations that may exist due to location and climate, if any. We also need to educate growers in harvesting to ensure we have mature truffles. We can research what other specialists think, including foreign growers, about area characteristics, seasonal effects and transport issues. Wine and olive oil have variations caused by their different areas and by seasons. We will research the experience of the NZ Association with truffle quality variations also.

What we can do, is get the grading established (perhaps with our NZ colleagues?) and educate the grading people with the shape and perfume, just as the wine and olive oil judges do? I feel the NZ draft is perhaps too general and assumes the truffles are all ‘good quality’ to start with but vary in maturity. Perhaps we are getting close to doing an initial grade of truffles for aroma by machine? Any ideas would be welcome.

8. Website.

The website has been developed at extremely low cost but I hope you will agree that it is very presentable. We would welcome any suggestions for further improvement.

One suggestion has been the use of more email mailing lists idea rather than use the members’ forum? We wanted the forum as the value added portion that gave a bit of mystique and value added for members.

Total Page views 60,232.00
Total Bytes Transferred 1.11 GB
Average Sessions Per Day 32.12 (people per day)
Average Page views Per Day 108.14
Average Bytes Transferred Per Day 2.04 MB
Average Page views Per Session 3.37 (how many pages looked at when they visit the site)
Average Length of Session 00:04:30 (how long people spend on the site)

The majority of interest (82%) comes from Australia, followed by the USA (7%), New Zealand (3%) and China (2%).

9. Plans for the Truffle Festival.

The WA growers have initiated a Truffle Festival to be held during the first week of August. The Association has offered assistance with listing on our website and there has been some interest from members. We have, as yet, not been successful in attracting any WA growers as members but we are hopeful that will change. It is planned that both myself and the Vice President, Tim Terry, will visit Mundaring WA to attend the Truffle Festival to sell the Association and hopefully attract some members. It appears that we might also have other eastern State members joining us in WA for the Festival experience and it is hoped to visit some of the larger truffieres. We have printed a double sided flyer to be handed out and will have a small corner of the Wine and Truffle Company stand, to talk to prospective members. Anyone visiting the Festival would be very welcome to assist on the stand to attract members. Your support would be very much appreciated. Could you please let Tim or I know if you are attending and can help.

10. In Conclusion

As mentioned, it is estimated that the Australia wide truffle harvest will be of the order of 500 Kg this year, 2007. Most figures indicate that properly managed Truffieres have the potential to move from an initial harvest of 1 kg per ha in say year 5, to at least 20 kg per ha in year 10. This means that the truffle harvest in 2012 could be more than 10 tonnes.

On this basis there is some considerable urgency in having the Association identify the status of the industry in Australia and with the help of DAFF and the RIRDC, identify specific goals and priorities for the Association and growers to support the obvious growth. This will include additional work on quality of produce for markets and the identification of markets, both in Australia and overseas, to ensure all growers are able to move their product and be well rewarded.

Your support and contribution to the Association is appreciated and will be needed in the future.

Wayne Haslam
President
Australian Truffle Growers Association, Inc.