Black truffles a golden opportunity

Highly regarded by the world's best chefs and keenest foodies, tuber melanosporum, better known as Perigord or French black truffle, has been shaved into pasta and infused into oil in top restaurants for decades.

The fruiting body of a fungus which grows on the roots of several species of host trees, the world's most expensive "gourmet mushroom" fetches about $2500 a kilo in peak production period.

Black truffle has been commercially harvested in WA since 2001, after the first plantings of oak trees inoculated with the fungus in 1997.

Pemberton and Manjimup are the main production areas because their latitude is closer to the equator, giving the region an ideal growing climate, but recently trufferies have been spreading further south.

Manjimup's Black Solitaire Truffles owner Mark Horwood said that as temperatures increase in the south-west of the State, cooler areas such as the Great Southern, were perfectly suited to growing the truffles or "black gold", as they are also commonly known.

Mr Horwood said WA contributes 80 per cent of the national truffle harvest and demand far outweighed supply.

"That total harvest satisfies the demand from Europe alone for just one day, so our problem is under-supply," he said.

Mr Horwood is the chairman of a recently formed grower group, Truffle Producers Western Australia Inc. The association has 29 producers, including four new growers in the Great Southern.

"The challenge of our industry is to educate people in the northern hemisphere that our truffle exists and it is fresh and of higher quality than what they were putting out in France this year," Mr Horwood said.

"This truffle season looks like being an all-time record production in WA, with eight tonnes of truffle expected to be sold - an increase of 60 per cent on last year."

Mr Horwood said truffle supply was set to increase tenfold over the next decade because new trufferies were coming into maturity and farming practices were improving.

"It takes 10 years from the time we plant an inoculated tree to work out if it will produce truffle and another five to approach full production, so it is a 15-year investment," he said.

"Some trees produce 300 grams, while others produce one kilo … with the baby trees in the ground now we expect to be able to meet the demand."

He said the association would be working with members, consultants and the State Government to develop an internationally recognised brand to distinguish WA truffle as a superior product and increase exports.

Hoping to cash in on the lucrative industry are new Denmark trufferie owners Dallas Newcombe and Lexie Carter.

The Perth pair bought a 70-hectare cattle farm in 2004 and were absentee owners before relocating in 2008.

Like many others approaching retirement age, the couple were looking for a tree change, but in their case it became literal in 2012 when they diversified from cattle into truffles.

"We were looking at retirement and thought a business might go a long way," Mr Newcombe said.

"We looked at a variety of things, such as chalets, that could produce an income when we saw an advertisement for a truffle nursery in Denmark."

Ms Carter said they decided to invest their superannuation funds into establishing a trufferie and, after some investigation, hand-planted about 2000 inoculated English oak trees in April 2012.

"What we were presented with in terms of a potential income was very appealing and at the time we didn't realise how much work was involved," Mr Newcombe said.

With no background in agriculture or knowledge of truffles, the accountant and science technician have spent the past two years installing water tanks, adjusting the pH level in the soil, and irrigating their growing orchard, as well as hand-spraying every tree for weeds in an effort to maximise truffle potential.

Ms Carter said having done everything they can to promote truffle growth, they hoped to find their first bit of "black gold" in about five years.