News

The National Macadamia Tree Crop Map was developed under the Multi-scale Monitoring Tools for Managing Australian Tree Crops: Phase 2 research project. This research is supported by Hort Innovation and four Australian industries: avocado, citrus, macadamia and banana.  

About the macadamia map 

The Australian macadamia industry’s interactive national map which simply presents the location and extent of all known commercial macadamia orchards that are greater than 1 ha. No personal or commercial information is collected or contained within this data.  

As part of the Australian Tree Crop Map, the AARSC is developing other macadamia grower and industry tools, one of which is the recently released planting year prediction for macadamia application. The interactive application uses time-series satellite imagery back to 1986 and remote sensing tools to predict the planting year and therefore tree age of mapped orchards. 

You can access this new tool here. 

How to use the predicated planting year tool

• Click the link above to access the tool. 
• Once in the application, you can search for and navigate to a specific location. Zooming in to a local scale will reveal the predicted planting year map, which colour codes tree age from darker (older) orchards to lighter (younger) orchards. 
• The predicted planting year can also be queried in a pop-up. 
• There is a bookmark tool that you can use to quickly navigate to a regular location. 

Building on the National Macadamia Map

Your help is needed to futureproof the macadamia industry

With the continued rapid expansion of both the Australian and international macadamia industry (global production is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 9% to 2029), accurate industry data is critical. Orchard data to support and further improve existing crop forecast models is crucial to maintain market confidence, and support industry-wide infrastructure and resource planning.

The following information is needed per farm:

• Farm geolocation
• Cultivar/s per block (if >1 a percentage will be assigned)
• Tree and row spacing
• Year of planting (to compare with planting year predictor tool)
• Whether irrigation is used (1) or it is supplementary (2) or the orchard is dryland (3)
• Irrigation source: on-farm surface, e.g. dam (1), onfarm groundwater bore (2), surface license from a river (3) or a scheme system (4)
• Whether the farm is owner operated or managed
• Whether the farm is organic or conventional
• Grower name, phone number, email address (this is optional but will be valuable in the event of a natural disaster or pest incursion)

This information is protected by and for use by the AMS only. We appreciate your contribution towards completing this exciting industry project.

There are 2 ways you can provide the information to the AMS:

1. Complete the form online here. 
2. Contact your state-based AMS staff member (see below) and attach a KML file from your farming/mapping APP. Please also include the additional information listed above. If this is not possible, contact the AMS for an alternative method.

NSW

Leoni Kojetin (Industry Development Manager)

[email protected] | 0433 007 925

QLD/WA

Emily Grieve (Industry Development Officer)

[email protected] | 0438 772 757

The benefits to the industry will be numerous and wide-reaching:

• Tracking and management of biosecurity outbreaks
• Emergency response to natural disasters
• Yield forecasting
• Export opportunities
• Resource management
• Industry advocacy
• Sustainability initiatives

Researchers at the University of New England’s Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre (AARSC) have been working with the AMS to update and extend the capabilities of the national map of macadamia orchards, which was developed under Phase 1 of the Multi-scale Monitoring Tools for Managing Australian Tree Crops project. This first phase mapped all tree crops greater than 2 ha and has proven crucial to the AMS in better planning and preparation.

The AMS now needs your support to collate orchard details to help understand what crop we produce annually. Phase 2 of the National Macadamia map involves a higher level of data collection and collation which will produce a powerful analysis tool for informed and fact-based decisions.

The AMS needs grower assistance to complete this phase of the project and realise its significant benefits to individuals and the industry. The AMS has invested in the development of a special tool called Macadamia Block Builder, allowing the AMS to edit the national macadamia map in-house and assign block-level information using a simple secure web application. 

How to use the map 

• Click on the map below to view the summary statistics for area of macadamia orchards by state/territory & LGA 
• Search the map by place name/address in the 'search' box or use the map pin tool to 'zoom to a growing region'. Locate your orchard and check all details are correct 
• Click the survey button to check your orchard is there, as well as provide updated information and/or feedback, which will assist the team to update the map 
• Watch the short video for more tips on how to use the map. 

About the project 

This project is a collaborative piece of work co-funded by the Future Food Systems CRC, Hort Innovation, University of New England, Avocados Australia Ltd, Australian Banana Growers Council, Citrus Australia and the Australian Macadamia Society. The overarching program is continuing the development, trial and extension of technology-based cropping and monitoring tools.