May 1st, 2013

National Farmers Federation

[QUANDONG AGRICULTURAL GROWTH:]

Proposed expansion in the Hartley region

An Informational Guide
by Ron Chester; GIS Analyst

For:
Hartley City Council General Public

NFF House 14-16 Brisbane Ave. Barton ACT Australia 2600

Dear Dr. Compas:

Enclosed you will find an informative piece about Quandong expansion possibilities in your area. Agricultural revenue from the Quandong industry is a rapidly expanding commodity across southern Australia and is an increasing source of revenue for the country. Your city was chosen as a place of interest for Quandong expansion growth due to your fertile soils and desirable climate. It is our understanding that the Hartley area has been in an economic decline for the last few decades, this is an opportunity to stabilize and grow Hartleys local economy and allow the area to prosper. A formal approach was taken to compose this study. Areas for farming were considered for slope gradient, geology, climate, as well as distance to a road to minimize capital costs. Three models were initially analyzed; after careful consideration for transit cost, it is recommended that Quandong growing habitat be chosen in areas within close proximity to roads. With little established population in the area, there is little concern for the detrimental effects of automotive exhaust affecting the quality of the fruit. Instead, limiting the initial investment to allow transit access is more appropriate. Thank you for the opportunity to compose this study for Quandong growth. I hope this only brings more interest to this agricultural possibility from the farmers and the community.

Regards,

Ron Chester
Ron Chester

Table of Contents
Letter of Transmittal .................................................................................... i Concerning Quandongs ................................................................................1 Location and Accessibility ...........................................................................2 Criteria of Study...........................................................................................3 Population .......................................................................................................3 Land gradient.3 Soil and Climate ...............................................................................................4 Final Model ..................................................................................................5 Economic Gain.............................................................................................7 Internationally Recognized Quandong Farms...8 National Farmers Federation ................................................................12

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Table of Figures and Charts

Figure 1. Quandong Fruit ............................................................................... 1 Figure 2. Growing Location........................................................................... .2 Figure 3. Population Density of Australia ..................................................... .3 Figure 4. Soil Infiltration...3 Figure 5. Soil Type Distribution...4 Figure 6. Proposed Growing Locations..6 Chart 1. Constraint Growth Modeling...5 Chart 2. Quandong Tree Yield..7

Table of Appendices
Appendix A: References .............................................................................. 10

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Concerning Quandongs

Often referred to as a wild peach, the Quandong is an Australian native tree whose tarttasting fruit have supplied Australian natives with a source of food as well as a useful tool for many thousands of years. The Quandong can be eaten fresh or, more commonly, dried and used for preserves, sauces, pie filling and liqueur--to name a few. The fruit is 2 to 3 cm in diameter and spherical to pear shaped. The Quandong plant is a shrub or small tree grows up to 6 m high with drooping, slender, pale green to olive leaves. In its wild setting, Quandongs grow in South Austrlia, Western Australia and New South Wales. It is commonly found in woodland associations and scattered in small groups on sands, sandy loams or gravel ridges. Quandong fruit grows over autumn, winter and early spring. When ripe, in early spring, the fruit will fully change from green in color to red. Quandongs can be susceptible to pests and disease like many. The Quandong Moth is the most significant pest which lays it eggs in the calyx of the fruit. Currently the only chemical control available is dimethoate. The death of trees is most commonly attributed to root fungal disease. Because of the infancy of the Quandong industry, research and advancements are being made to stave off this growth.1

Figure 1: Ripe Quandong Fruit

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Location and Accessibility

Hartley has a unique position in the southern region of Australia. With transit cost, population, local geology and climate a primary concern for any agricultural growth, Hartley is optimally located for rural growth while being close to Adelaide for fruit processing and international shipment via Port Adelaide. Further information can be found about the regional climate and geology of Hartley and as it pertains to Quandong growth.

Figure 1: Hartleys Location to Port

Figure 2: The proposed growing locations (black) are ideally located in a rural setting yet close to Port Adelaide for packaging and international shipping.

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Criteria for Study

Population
Quandong orchards, past and present, report particularly high sensitivity to exhaust from mass transportation. For this reason areas for growth are first chosen for proximity to and from high populous locations. Farmers report a higher yield and higher quality fruit as a result to rural farming. Hartley is uniquely located in rural Australia but conveniently under one hour to Adelaide for processing and shipment.
Figure 3: Illustration of population density across Australia. Quandong orchards require areas of
relatively low population.
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Land Gradient
Significant attention is given to areas with low gradient relief. These regions grant greater moisture control in the soil by having a higher rate of infiltration and moisture retention from rain. By choosing locations between 2-20 degrees, farmers can rely on reduced irrigation costs throughout the growing seasons maximizing profits.

Figure 4: This image illustrates groundwater infiltration from rainfall. Low gradient locations allow greater rainfall infiltration decreasing the amount of irrigation needed from farmers.

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Criteria for Study

Soil and Climate

The Quandong is particularly adapted to live in the southern coastal regions of Australia. Preferring arid to semi-arid reaches, the Hartley region sits in a temperate to semi-arid ecoregion of Australia. The temperate zone will allow for optimal growing conditions to the fruit, allowing adequate precipitation levels (250-500mm) and stable temperatures for a strong, well bodied fruit. The Quandong can tolerate high levels of soil salinity and prefer areas with roughly 60% loamy sand. Located in the Chromosol soils, Hartley is perfectly suited to grow Quandongs.2

Figure 5: Soil type distribution across the country shows that the Hartley area is ideal for the Quandong.
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Final Model

Various criteria are considered for optimal agricultural growth and expansion (i.e. Population, Location, Soil and Climate). When a particular location has been established meeting these constraints, various models are produced to weigh individual factors of choice. For the Hartley region, having met all aforementioned requirements, weighted statistical analysis of slope gradient and distance to a road were analyzed for two of the three models presented here. Location one, model one, was excluded due to the slope constraint not being met. Model three, presented here, shows ideal locations for the Quandong growth. By focusing on distance to road, initial capital cost of the farms can be kept at a minimum. Due to low population of the area, transit exhaust from the local populous is not a concern to the Quandong fruit quality.

Location 1 2 3

Easting 318286 317826 317772

Northing 6116034 6115655 6116268

Precip Constraint 1 1 1

Soil Constraint 1 1 1

Slope Constraint 0 1 1

Road Slope Pref Pref .940504 0.000 .9606205 .877033 .873995 .826379

Continued Location 1 2 3 Calculated Model 1 0 .891604 .850187 Measured Model 1 0 .91881175 .850187 Calculated Model 2 0 .885763 .840664 Measured Model 2 0 .90208825 .8406638 Calculated Model 3 0 .900365 .864472 Measured Model 3 0 .943897 .8644718

Chart 1: Quandong growth models based on precipitation, soil and slope.

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Figure 6: Proposed growth locations based on location to road.

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Economic Gain

As stated, Quandong agriculture is in its infancy but is a rapidly expanding discipline. Recent estimates of Quandong trees place their population to 26,000 to 50,000 trees. The largest single planting operation in Australia is reputed to be around 7,000 trees. With global market demand increasing, Australia is presented with an opportunity to gain from its native tree. Tree Age Mother (years) Tree Yield Fruit yield varies by age of the tree with the first fruits (Kg) being produced at 4 years of age. From that time, 4 0.67 Quandong trees see rapid increases in fruit from year to 5 1.19 year (see Fig ). Little is known about the optimal irrigation 6 1.62 regime; with time, Quandong farming will increase yield 7 2.44 and produce increasingly finer fruit. 8 3.93 9 3.26 The economics of production is still being established. 10 4.33 However, demand for Quandongs domestically and 11 3.88 internationally is rapidly expanding as the fruit is being 12 5.14 used for a higher variety of applications. A large portion of 13 6.38 harvested fruit has been utilized for liqueur production, 1 14 7.28 which has paid a high price, around $40 per kilogram. 15 11.45 Chart 2: Quandong Fruit produced per tree by age.

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Internationally Recognized Quandong Farms

Paxton
Paxton farm is a leader in Australian viticulture and specializes in Quandong wines. Notably, Paxton has seen exponential growth in wine sales domestically and internationally. Recent expansion has Paxton looking to partner with local Quandong farmers.

FooteSide Farm
FooteSide Farm originated in wool farming until economic strain had them looking for additional farming resources. Since then the farm has flourished, actively farming Quandongs, Wattle Seed and Bush Tomato. In the past few years their farm has become internationally recognized for their quality. 4

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National Farmers Federation

Founded in 1979, the National Farmers Federation (NFF) purpose has been to represent farmers and general agriculture across Australia. The NFF is dedicated to proactive awareness of farming practices and growth, gaining the utmost respect from farmers and citizens across the country. More recently, one of the key roles of the NFF has been to expand and optimize Australian agriculture. Dynamically evolving exports and economic viability is a top priority for Australian legislature, constantly striving to fill global market demands. The NFF takes the hassle out of farming and allows the farmer to do what he does best and leave the rest to us. Our organization looks for ideal farming techniques and locations to maximize return to the farmers of Australia. The National Farmers Federation is committed to the advancement Australias farms and will continue to serve the community with a forward-thinking approach to agriculture.

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Appendices
Appendix A: References

1.- Primary Industries and Resources SA. Quandong Production. Upper Sturt: , 2001. Print.
<http://www.ausbushfoods.com/oldmag/Downloads/pirsaquandong.pdf>.

2.- ABS National Health Survey, 1995 (unpublished data). State of the Environment. Department of Sustainability. 3.- Australian Government. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
Communities .Australian Natural Resources Atlas. Canberra ACT 2601: , 2009. Web.

4. "Our Story." FooteSide Farm. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www.footesidefarm.com/about-us/>.

*Those facts represented with a superscript citation notation are factual. Those without were withheld purposely due to me not being an Australian Geology and horticultural expert but simply wanting to have fun with the assignment.*

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