MACADAMIA nut plantations across the Northern Rivers have started to shift into flowering, with a return to a more normal growing pattern being welcomed by growers.
Exceptionally warm weather last year created multiple flowerings in plantations but the colder winter this year has provided for easier management on farms.
Harvesting is still continuing on later varieties with strong prices encouraging growers to pick up everything they have.
While the rain of last weekend - which amounted to close to 100 millimetres on some coastal properties - and the past two days 50mm-plus, has helped relieve stress on trees, it hasn't been excessive to the point that flowering or harvesting is severely hampered, producers said.
This year's flowering - the first stage of the macadamia growing cycle - is expected to be shorter than normal, also assisting on-farm management as growers consolidate their tree husbandry over a shorter timeframe, chief executive officer of the Australian Macadamia Society Jolyon Burnett said.
The strong start the season had all the makings of a bountiful yield if conditions remain favourable, he said.
Grower Cathy Ferndale said while there was still a lot of hard work to be done between now and harvest, and a good blossoming does not always guarantee a good crop, the season was shaping up quite nicely.
Consultants said attention to crop nutrition had been very strong across the industry this year, courtesy of improved farmgate prices providing the cash flow to invest in inputs.
Shan Goodwin
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
