MACADAMIAS : Popular Nut Is Becoming a Profitable Alternative Crop for California Growers

The sweet, floral fragrance of a Hawaiian orchard in bloom envelopes a hillside stand of trees here in the northern reaches of San Diego County.

The pleasing, but seemingly misplaced, scent is the springtime signature of a most identifiable island commodity--macadamia nuts.

The countless pink blossoms responsible for the area’s tropical feel portend a fine California season for the prized ivory-color nuts. In an area known more for its expansive ranches and avocado groves, macadamias are becoming a popular--and profitable--alternative crop.

Growers’ success with this tropical tree, now well beyond the experimental stage, heralds the addition of yet another lucrative species to California agriculture. And the demand for macadamias, generated by their unique flavor and high-priced image, is unyielding.

Further fueling interest in the nut is the macadamia’s resistance to the cinnamon fungus currently destroying the root system of older avocado trees, an area fixture. When replacement plantings are sought, macadamias are increasingly the choice.

This year’s anticipated harvest, a modest 100,000 pounds, is only a beginning, according to industry estimates. By 1993, the total is expected to increase tenfold as young trees begin bearing nuts.

Although these figures pale in comparison to Hawaii’s multimillion-pound yield, the viability of Mainland macadamias are most welcome to farmers, nut lovers and processors alike. At a minimum, local availability may eventually mean that the price of these precious nuts, whose shelled meat sells for $12 per pound, may someday level off.

Kitty Scholes laughed upon recalling the less-than-scientific way that she and her husband selected macadamias as the tree to plant over 4 acres of ranchland here.

The almost hasty decision was made more than 20 years ago under prompting from a well-traveled relative who had encountered the macadamia upon visits to Hawaii. The recommendation met with blank stares.

But then Scholes took a quick trip to the grocery store in an attempt to locate the unusual sounding item which, at the time, was virtually unknown outside of the islands.

“I went down to the market, saw the prices and said, ‘Oh, boy, I’m going to get rich and retire early.’

“Well, here we are 20 years later and I’m just as poor as when we started,” she said, with more than a touch of exaggeration.

A quick review of macadamia economics demonstrates just why the nuts have found favor. An acre holds about 125 adult trees, each of which yields 50 to 70 pounds of nuts. Thanks to a strong demand, growers can expect about $1.25 per pound for the California variety. At this rate of return, an average orchard can, conservatively, gross upwards of $7,000 to $8,000 an acre per year--an impressive total even though harvest, other labor-related costs and initial investments must be deducted.

Ducking under a blossom-laden bough, Scholes looked back and said the choice of macadamias was equal parts courage and ignorance.

“It was kinda dumb, I guess, operating on blind faith,” she said.

When pressed, however, she will admit to enjoying almost everything about the trees, their springtime beauty and, of course, the nuts, which are enclosed in seemingly impenetrable shells.

Macadamias are a hard nut to crack. They require a special tool to split the rock-like shell or, more likely, one of the various home-spun methods that ultimately employ a hammer. A traditional nutcracker will not do.

Even so, all the effort is considered worthwhile because the crunchy texture offers a delicate, mocha-flavored meat. Most consumers are familiar with the numerous roasted, salted or chocolate-covered forms available from Hawaii. But the nut, in its simplest raw, dried state, is an island treasure.

Much of macadamia’s appeal, in agricultural terms, is its low maintanence.

“They’re a great deal for the gentleman farmer,” said Alva V. Snider, a grower who has worked with macadamias for 20 years. “They don’t require (pesticide) spraying and you don’t need to cultivate them. Other (tree) crops are a lot more work.”

Unlike almonds and walnuts, which need to be shaken from the tree by mechanical harvesters, the macadamia simply falls to the ground when ripe. The most difficult chores involve collecting the nuts from the orchard floor and seasonal pruning.

This state’s macadamia pioneers, like Scholes and Snider, realized in 1971 that they would need a means of marketing their crop once the trees reached fruition. Shortly thereafter, the Gold Crown Macadamia Assn. was formed in nearby Fallbrook.

More than 140 growers are members today representing a combined production area of 1,000 acres, mostly in San Diego County, but some as north as Santa Barbara.

Although there has been a great deal of activity in recent years, the macadamia’s history in California dates back a century. The trees, native to Australia, were first brought to the state in 1885. A few of the initial plantings still survive, one of which stands on the UC Berkeley campus.

There has also been a research and education organization, the California Macadamia Society, since 1955. But the advent of commerical activities, though fledgling, required a co-operative.

The group’s headquarters and processing facility shares a ramshackled building with co-tenants such as Vic’s Print Shop and Custom Sewing. The location is a far cry from the modern complexes that are home to the state’s extensive almond and walnut industries. But prestige is not a priority.

“We’re a small, small business,” said Snider, a past president of the group.

Because of equipment limitations, Gold Crown sells the nuts only in the shell and usually at a most reasonable $3- to $4-a-pound retail price.

Growers are responsible for bringing the macadamias to the co-op, where they are dried, sorted by size, weighed and rebagged. At those times when prices soften, the co-op can store the nuts for as long as a year until the market improves.

None of the sophisticated techniques associated with the Hawaiian industry are in evidence. The handmade sorting table consists of plywood and 2x4 boards supported by rusted metal legs and further propped by ceramic coffee-cups.

“We do have some standards,” Snider insisted.

Much of the co-op’s nuts are sold through farmer’s markets and mail order, but its list of wholesalers is growing. One of the first distributors for the California macadamias was Frieda’s Finest Produce Specialties, Inc., of Los Angeles.

“Just about the time I was looking for some high-quality (Hawaiian) sources, I was approached by the California growers,” said Freida Caplan, chairman of Frieda’s Finest, which markets the nuts in the shell. “When I switched to the California variety our sales increased perceptibly.

“They have done a tremendous job of improving the quality of the nuts. I have yet to come across anything from Hawaii that is--in the shell, at least--as good as California,” said Caplan.

The differences can be attributed, in part, to the fact that the two states grow slightly different varieties of the same tree. The species cultivated in Hawaii is from Australia’s more tropical Queensland province. The variety adapting to California is a native of New South Wales, an area with a drier clime.

Snider, of Gold Crown, said that most people would be hard-pressed to discern any difference between the tastes of the Hawaiian and California macadamia. He claims, however, that the Mainland variety is sweeter.

Any quality edge the Californians may have over their Hawaiian counterparts is not much more than amusing at this point considering the size disparity between the two groups. For now, the fact that macadamias have grown successfully in this state is victory enough for the Mainlanders.

So, the specter of more intense competition remains a long ways off. And that’s just as well; for there’s something to be said for novelty.

“This is such an unusual crop for around here,” Scholes said. “Everyone lights up when I say I own a macadamia orchard.”