The MFM History
Macadamia Farm Management was established in 1987 in response to an increasing demand for specialist, high-quality farm management services in the Macadamia industry. Since then, the industry has experienced rapid and exponential growth with the potential for more expansion as a large number of younger orchards are nearing maturity. The world quickly realised the value of investing in the Macadamia industry and it only made sense to invest in Australia, the home of the Macadamia.
We are the trusted industry leader providing whole-farm management services to a variety of different clients, ranging from first-time to established local and international investors, family-operated farms, and global conglomerates who trust us to develop new orchards and to rejuvenate deteriorated orchards to optimise the profitability of their existing operations.
Macadamia Farm Management is perfectly positioned to be able to manage and give advice on all aspects of growing Macadamias, from sourcing suitable and affordable agricultural land, providing complete project cost models for different investment portfolios, tending to all aspects of whole land developments, to managing both newly developed – and mature orchards. Housing the greatest minds in the industry, and having access to ground-breaking agricultural technology, enables us to also invest a significant amount of time on research and development, thereby ensuring that our investors have a competitive advantage in an ever-evolving market. Our continued investment towards our employees’ education and skills development makes us a multi-award-winning company that continues to be a pioneer in the industry, especially when it comes to technological inventions and research. These inventions include the incorporation of GPS guided tree planting technology, the industry’s largest double-headed harvesters that can harvest around 50 tons of de-husked nuts per day and, and one of our proudest creations, Australia’s largest on-farm drying and sorting facility that sort and dry 3,000 tons of Macadamias per year. This facility makes use of state-of-the-art image sorting technology, another Macadamia Farm Management introduced invention, with a capacity to sort over three tons of nut in shell per hour.
Aside from developing and managing the farming operation for investors, we also provide them with the opportunity to acquire equity in other independently operating entities that Macadamia Farm Management established and manages which source and distribute machinery and other agricultural inputs. This initiative builds a global network of like-minded individuals and offers cost-effective solutions to asset acquisition seeing that operating costs are shared between all stakeholders, based on a hectares planted ratio. This allows investors to access the latest developed agricultural technology at a fraction of the price.
Growing a legacy is not done in isolation and we are greatly dependent on the goodwill and support of our neighbours. That is why we believe that supporting other local businesses and fostering relationships with them, sets a rock-solid foundation for building a stronger community. Whilst making large financial contributions towards research in the Macadamia industry, we also share our acquired knowledge and expertise with the industry. Our experts do this by participating in industry events, such as the annual Macadamia Symposium and other platforms that allow them to share their knowledge and inventions – a quality that made us a household name.
Macadamia Farm Management is synonymous with growth – whether we grow trees, ourselves, or our community!
Our Team
Having a team of like-minded leaders makes the day-to-day management of a business run effortlessly, but we have learned that our strength also lies in our diversity. Even though everyone has a shared vision of the goals of our company and embrace the Macadamia Farm Management way, their diverse backgrounds and skillsets expand the capabilities of our business, enabling us to remain revolutionary.
Being in the Macadamia industry for more than three decades, made us understand the importance of having leaders that can mentor a team to continuously evolve and to find innovative ways to solve industry challenges. This has led to Macadamia Farm Management becoming the breeding place for extraordinarily skilled experts ranging from software and mechanical engineers, production – and operational experts to world-leading agronomists.
Our leaders lead in a manner that motivates our team to strive towards constant improvement and that creates a culture of unity that steers us towards a shared vision.
Scott Gregson-Allcott
Our managing director, Scott, was born in Rhodesia and migrated to Australia in 1997 to pursue a career in agriculture. In 2001 he attained a Bachelor’s degree in Crop Science from The University of Queensland and went on to manage a large vegetable seedling nursery in Bowen, North Queensland.
Scott later relocated to Bundaberg, where he established a large Macadamia nursery and became familiar with the Macadamia industry, supplying grafted Macadamia trees to major stakeholders within the industry.
In 2010, Scott purchased the Macadamia Farm Management business and currently owns and operates the business in Bundaberg. He is actively involved in research initiatives aimed at ensuring sustainable yields and quality, through continuous improvement in soil health. Scott is also known for being a trendsetter, always investigating ground-breaking ways to grow the industry.
Andrew Cole
Andrew Cole is a born and bred Aussie who grew up on a large farm in Western New South Wales where his family cultivated cotton and citrus. His love for agriculture was the driving force that made him further his studies at Sydney University where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Management.
Being well versed in the cotton industry meant Andrew had the opportunity to manage large scale cotton farms, but he has since gained extended experience in various horticultural operations throughout Australia. These include the management of citrus orchards, grapevines, melons and a range of other vegetable crops. In combination with Andrew’s vast experience in on-farm operations, he has also used the experience obtained from his agricultural management degree to operate commercial agricultural processing, packaging, and food safety facilities.
Andrew’s experience in operating large scale agricultural entities in combination with his meticulous management style and passion for agriculture has allowed Macadamia Farm Management to not only improve current operations but also to grow our management footprint.
Robert Hobson
Rob is the quintessential example of how passion, determination and commitment can get you anywhere in life. Rob has been with Macadamia Farm Management for two decades starting his career at ground level as a farmhand and working his way through the ranks to become one of our Operations Managers.
Before moving to his current position, Rob’s management experience extends from managing a single macadamia orchard at Alloway and then progressing into assisting with the overall management of multiple properties within the Bundaberg Macadamia group of orchards. On the back of his success in this position, he was offered the opportunity to develop and manage multiple new properties for one of Macadamia Farm Management’s largest investment groups.
Rob maintains that hard work, dedication to learning, and working towards continuous development both professionally and in farming, is the key to his success and longevity with Macadamia Farm Management.
Armand Smit
Armand joined our team in 2020 after leaving his home country, where he worked as a technical grower liaison for a prestigious macadamia growing – and processing company. He currently manages the orchards at our Maryborough operations, where his responsibilities include establishing new orchards and optimising the productivity of existing orchards.
He collaborated on much-needed research into macadamia water relations and deficit irrigation in South Africa as part of his BSc (Agriculture) and MSc (Horticulture) degrees.
Armand enjoys agricultural business and challenges traditional macadamia production systems with his fresh and principled approach, striving for perfection in every aspect.