On 14-15th October Stonebarn attended The Australia, New Zealand, Shenzhen (China) Business Summit & Expo at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in Perth. The WA Shenzhen Association and ACERA organised the event. The 2 days focused on building business collaboration across the three regions. Stonebarn had a booth for the duration of the Expo and Dion also gave the following presentation about Stonebarn.
He illustrated how he and his wife Sharon bought the land at Stonebarn with nothing but bluegum trees. They cleared the land and initially built a stone lodge for tourists. After looking into different options such as planting vines and olives, they decided to grow black winter truffles. 20 years later and they are now the 3rd largest private producer of black winter truffles in Australia. The airfreight fresh truffles to more than a dozen countries worldwide. They have also developed a range of shelf-stable truffle products and alcohols. They sell these nationally and internationally to distributors as well as direct to customers online: https://stonebarnshopping.com/
Dion explained how he has been trying to export to China for many years. However, the country’s customs procedure of inspecting every fresh truffle shipment (which can take up to 2 weeks) has prevented this from happening. Fresh truffle is best consumed within 2 weeks of it being harvested and adhering to the existing customs procedure would mean the truffle would no longer be at its best. Dion asked the forum if there was anyone who could advise him on how to expedite shipments of fresh truffle into China.
As he showed an aerial video of the property, he explained how they have developed a truffle nursery. They provide inoculated truffle trees and agronomy support to other farmers. They have also developed their own truffle fertilisers. These are particularly good at creating a favourable soil biome. Other truffle farmers have started using to improve the quality of their soil and consequently their truffle production (https://stonebarntruffles.com.au/buy-stonebarn-truffle-trees-stonebarn-truffle-fertiliser/).
As a result, Dion now spends much of his time providing consultancy services to other truffle orchards and said there is an opportunity to develop partnerships with others in the South West as well as truffle growers in China, by providing them with inoculated truffle trees and consultancy support to best grow the truffles.
If you are interested in developing a truffle orchard, or would like consultancy advice on your existing plantation, please email: info@stonebarn.com.au
For more information on our services, please visit: https://stonebarntruffles.com.au/need-help-developing-a-trufflerie/
See Dion’s full presentation in the video below.
