303 ha Farm in Barberton

Nut & citrus farm. Farm Description

A highly productive, predominantly macadamia farm situated in the De Kaap Valley is on offer as a turnkey commercial unit. The property consists of two portions, with one hundred and eighty-two hectares 60 of the total area planted to macadamias and citrus. The remaining one hundred and twenty-one hectares comprise waterways and infrastructure such as roads, dams, and building improvements.

The macadamia orchards cover one hundred and fifty-one hectares, with tree ages ranging between seven and thirty-five years. Twelve hectares are planted to pecan nuts, which hold no significant commercial value. Eighteen hectares of citrus have recently been top-worked to Turkey Valencia oranges.

Terrain

The topography is undulating, sloping downwards towards the Noordkaap River in a south-to-east direction.

Altitude

Orchards are planted between 822 m and 888 m above sea level, with occasional frost occurring in the lower-lying areas where the oranges and pecan nuts are planted.

Rainfall

The mean annual rainfall in the area varies between 700 mm and 800 mm.

Macadamia Tree Age Composition

7 years old 10.7 ha

10 years old 24.0 ha

11 years old 32.1 ha

21 years old 31.2 ha

22 years old 15.4 ha

24 years old 6.0 ha

28 years old 7.4 ha

35 years old 14.2 ha

Cultivars include: A4, Beaumont, Nelmac, 333, 788, 791, 816, and 880.

Eighteen hectares were previously planted with lemons. The trees have since been cut down, and the new shoots were recently topworked to Turkey Valencia oranges. An additional twelve hectares, planted with pecan nuts, are not currently farmed commercially.

Water Supply

The allocation from the Noordkaap River is 858,000 m per annum. All orchards are irrigated with a micro jet spray system.

De-husking Plant

The de-husking facility consists of:

Nuts from orchards placed into a 1.5-ton Nut-in-Husk NIH holding bin

A conveyor lifting nuts to the de-husker

A four-lane Vos de-husker removing husks and discarding them via blower

Nuts passing through a sizing tumbler to separate small from large

Nuts falling onto a sorting conveyor where unsound nuts are removed

Nuts entering an aluminium water bath to remove sinkers

Nuts passing through an extraction fan into a secondary sizing tumbler

Nuts conveyed to drying bins via lifting conveyor

Eight 8-ton drying bins equipped with built-in fans to circulate ambient air

Dried nuts transferred to a second-stage sorting table for inspection

Nuts conveyed onto trucks for delivery to the processing plant

Equipment

A full range of tractors, implements, and tools is included in the sale.

Offer

The farm is on offer as a going concern.