You can spread it, can you smash it, you can blend it, you can bake it.
No matter how you like to eat your avocados, have a few extra this week to celebrate National Avocado Day.
Originating in Central and South America, avos are a highly valued fruit for their nutritional content and versatility.
Have you tried making ice cream with them?
Avocado popularity has soared in recent years becoming a beloved ingredient in meals ranging from guacamole to the famous café favourite smashed avocado.
Bundaberg forms part of the Central Queensland growing region which is the largest avocado growing region by land size.
We grow several varieties but focus predominantly on Shepard which come into production first for around eight to ten weeks then we’re taken over by the more popular and bigger volumes of the Hass variety.
Bundaberg is one of only two locations in the world growing Shepard avocado which is distinctly different from its Hass variety in that it doesn’t change colour as it ripens and provides a creamy, smooth texture, nutty flavour and slightly firmer flesh to the Hass.
Because our farmers are so good at what they do, and our growing conditions are ideal avocado production has increased at a significant rate and industry now finds itself working hard towards export options to reduce pressure on the domestic floor and bring the price up for everyone.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and market access and trade negotiations needs to be a priority for our Federal Government for this to occur.
We have a new Federal Agriculture Minister following the recent cabinet reshuffle and despite being Shadow Agriculture Minister for just over a year I can’t see much background in agriculture in their previous work.
The MP therefore has a steep learning curve ahead but hopefully they’ve got agriculture’s back and don’t take too many tips from the last guy who clashed consistently with industry.
