GOING nuts is all in a day's work for one southern NSW farming family.

Griffith rice growers Denis and Annette Dinicola, and their son Dean, switched to growing almonds six years ago, lured by the potential returns of the growth market.

    AT A GLANCE
  • Who: Dinicola family
  • What: almonds
  • Where: Griffith, NSW
  • Why: growth market
  • Report: LINDSAY HAYES

Now, with just two weeks of this season's harvest remaining, the Dinicolas are expecting good yields from the 65,000 trees on their 240ha almond farm, Mandole Orchard, at Lake Wyangan.

Mandole Orchard is the biggest family-owned almond farm in the Griffth district.

Four truck-loads of almonds leave the orchard each week destined for Laragon Pty Ltd's hulling and shelling plant at Lindsay Point, near Renmark, in South Australia.

The kernels are then further processed and marketed by the Almond Co of Renmark.

Denis said most almonds were exported to India, Europe and the Middle East but domestic consumption was on the rise.

The Dinicolas employ one permanent worker, and casuals as needed. They have their own semi-trailer and cart some loads themselves, but engage contractors for the rest.

Traditionally rice growers, the family has three rice farms in the district, totalling 1650ha.

They have not grown rice for four years, but plan to when the seasons improve.

Wheat and prime lamb production, once part of the mix, no longer rates a mention.

Research into likely nut-bearing crops showed good returns per megalitre of water, which led the Dinicolas to almonds. "We chose almonds because they produced a crop faster and gave a better return per megalitre of water than other crops," Denis said.

"It costs about $12 per tree just to get them through the first 12 months."

Costs include planting and training, with some production coming in during the third year.

"The first 32ha of almond trees were planted in 2004 with two further staged plantings in 2006 and 2007, the latter being harvested for the first time this season," Denis said.

"Production will almost double each year as the trees further mature, hopefully reaching a yield of around three to four tonnes/ha."

Denis said set-up costs in irrigation infrastructure and harvesting equipment were high.

Water is supplied from the local irrigation channel.

The trees are drip-irrigated by an extensive network of pipes, using the latest technology.

The Dinicolas engaged local irrigation specialists to install 5km of main line and computerised pumping stations.

The 560km of dripper lines are all sub-surface and were installed with the Dinicolas' own equipment.

"The equipment used in the almond orchard represents a $500,000 outlay, with most of the harvesting machinery coming from California, the world's biggest almond producer with 80 per cent of the world market," Denis said.

The plant includes a tractor-pulled mechanical harvester, two 100hp tractors, two self-propelled shakers, a sweeper, elevator and an air-blast sprayer.

He said Australia's 3 per cent share of the world almond market was set to double by 2012 and with growing international demand, it would become the world's second-largest almond producer.

As Riverina grower representative on the Almond Board of Australia, Denis is keen to encourage local farmers to join the " exciting" new industry.

He said his late father, Armando, was a big encouragement to him and Dean in getting the almond farm started.

His mother, Mary, is part of the farming partnership.

Annette, who grew up on a citrus farm, does the books for the farm business and promotes the health benefits of almonds at every opportunity.

"Almonds are a very big part of our lives, "she said.

"I use them in cooking and for healthy snacks.

"The kernels can be ground to make almond meal, which is in high demand and very popular for cakes and biscuits.

"You can store the almonds in the freezer. This will prevent them from turning rancid."

Dean is equally nutty about almonds.

In charge of irrigation, among other production tasks, he tracks the moisture level of the trees to determine the amount of water and fertiliser to apply.

"I'm 22, but I have been farming since I was two," he said. "I've always had a keen interest in farming and knew I would be a farmer."

Dean said the almond industry had excellent growth potential but there were some risks.

The trees were no more disease-prone than other horticultural crops, but growers still had to be vigilant and monitor the trees weekly, he said.

"The first three years when the trees are growing you can lose the odd one. We've had a few losses," he said.

"Bird control using scare guns has been very effective."

Chemical use is minimal, with nutrient foliars the main sprays used.

A recent improvement is a large shed, built by Denis and Dean, to store the almonds, which had previously been stockpiled under tarpaulins, leading to some losses through water seepage. The extra undercover space has enabled the semi-trailer and all harvesting equipment to be kept in the same place.

The main farm inputs are fertiliser and power for the electric pumps. Denis is hopeful a proposal to build an almond hulling and processing plant in Griffith within two years will eventuate.

This will mean a big saving in time and cartage costs to transport the crop to Renmark.