Macadamias: switching to machine harvesting

Braam de Kock’s farm on the outskirts of Mbombela, Mpumalanga, is without the usual flurry of activity that is typical of a macadamia nut farm in May. Instead, plumes of dust collect above single rows as the mechanised harvest gets under way.

During the harvest season that takes place between March and August each year, many farmers are faced with sourcing and managing hundreds of casual labourers to collect nuts off the orchard floor. For De Kock, this meant 100 workers for his 200ha farm.

“The plan was always to mechanise as much as possible. As the macadamia trees matured, our yields increased, which meant we were employing more and more people each year.

“I prefer the workers to live on the farm, but I couldn’t accommodate all the people who were needed for the harvest. At one stage, we used a contractor to source and