We nurture the little trees in our own nursery, plant them out into our beautiful sandy soils, and care for the trees and the nuts all the way to an amazing product like the Brookfarm Brother’s Blend.

– Nick Websters

Supporting local Australian farmers

As a demonstration of our commitment to local Australian farmers, as of 1 July 2018, our top-selling Brothers Blend Entertainer premium nut blend will now feature Tasmanian walnuts instead of imported brazil nuts.

Brookfarm chatted this week to Nick at Websters Australian Walnuts to share a little of this Aussie nuts magic!

We are thrilled to now showcase your Tasmanian walnuts in our Brothers Blend. Tell us a little about the Australian growing conditions for this nut.

We are also thrilled that our product is in your awesome brand. Our Tasmanian Walnuts come from our very first Australian orchard, on the East Coast of Tasmania at Swansea. 

Our Tasmanian walnuts are grown in a cool climate, just a few kilometres from beautiful Coles Bay.  The cool climate growing conditions means the oils in the walnuts mature slowly and produce a delicious natural sweetness.

Supporting Australian farmers is of the utmost importance to us at Brookfarm. Can you please tell us how the farms started and the importance of this growing Australian market?

Webster grows approximately 90% of the Australian Walnut Crop and pioneered the commercialisation of the Australian Walnut Industry.  Following plantings in Tasmania, we began development in the New South Wales Riverina during the early 2000’s.

The cold winter and hot summer in the region is perfect for high quality in shell and walnut kernel, meaning more Australian’s can now have access to our freshly cracked and packed product, delivered to them in just a couple of days , knowing exactly where it has come from.

There is more than one variety of walnut! Tell us more!

There is!  We have 7 varieties which all have slightly different characteristics.  Having different varieties is helpful for our harvest timing (so all of the nuts aren’t ready at the same time) but it is difficult to taste the difference, even for the experts!

What makes Australian walnuts so special?

We think it’s pretty special having walnuts grown so close to home; the air in the regions we grow in is so clean and the walnuts are really given a chance to thrive. We have a lovely natural water source from the Murrumbidgee River in the New South Wales and the Swan River in Tassie.

We nurture the little trees in our own nursery, plant them out into our beautiful sandy soils, and care for the trees and the nuts all the way to an amazing product like the Brookfarm Brother’s Blend.

What is key to the walnuts integrity and producing the best nut?

Walnuts are quite a tricky nut to grow, and they require a lot of care and attention throughout the season and following harvest.  We carefully select the time we harvest the ensure the colour is beautiful, and once the product is harvested, it is dried to a stable moisture content, ensuring a good shelf life.

Once the walnuts are cracked, they are immediately transferred into our cool chain facility, ensuring that the oils are not spoiled by the sometimes high temperatures in the Riverina. We mechanically sort and size, prior to a final labour check, X-Ray and metal detection.

So, to answer your question, a lot of TLC is required from start to finish.

Sum up the business in 3 words.

• Fresh.
• Local.
• Responsible.

We are proud to support a fellow Australian farmer and thank so much for your time!