5 Minutes with Allan from McDonald Farm Trees
Posted date: 11 Jul 2011
Earlier this week we had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Allan McDonald from McDonald Farm Trees.
Allan and his wife own and run a 400 acre tree farm in Darbys Falls which is a small village just outside of Cowra. Allan started growing trees when he lived in Sydney and loved the farm life so much he moved to Darbys Falls and has been growing native trees and shrubs now for over 14 years. Allan knows a thing or 2 about growing trees!
Don’t be mistaken, Allan runs a very impressive business where native trees and shrubs are concerned. If you are looking for tube stock and native trees and shrubs then McDonald Trees are well worth your time to call.
Allan’s thriving business provides trees and shrubs to a huge variety of clients from lone landscapers and farmers to large corporations and Government bodies. In amongst his clientele, Allan has the contract for the re-vegetation of the Orange based Cadia Hill Goldmine as well as the Lithgow power station re-vegetation work. Not to mention, The National Parks and Wildlife buy plants to help re-vegetate the buffer zones that are owned by private landholders. Allan also sends trees to Bourke, the Snowy Mountains and additionally supplies trees for Mid North Coast Forestry Projects. Allan just recently sent 15 000 trees down to Canberra for landscaping work where a lot of the trees are being utilised for the re-beautification project of the new Barton Highway alignment between Yass and Canberra.
Landscapers \ Streetscapers are also high on the list for buying tube stock as well as larger retail nurseries buying trees in lots of 10 000 or more. In addition to selling tree stock, McDonald Farm Trees provide a reputable tree planting service for plant holders.
Allan buys a large variety of stock from ASSETS, and has done so for more than 10 years now; from plastic sleeve tree guards, bamboo stakes and jute mat squares to recycled milk carton guards and small hardwood stakes. Allan mostly deals with “Troy the boy” and says Troy was there well before he came on the scene and “we look after each other like most people should. We are good for each other”.
Allan recommends the delivery service that ASSETS offer and says ASSETS are “absolutely excellent and very reliable. If I wasn’t happy I would definitely say something. I like to keep my customers happy and expect the same from ASSETS. I have been getting my materials from ASSETS for more than 10 years and All Stakes provide the best service”.
When asked about the trends within the industry Allan sees sustainable gardening becoming more and more utilized and requested. Allan says in his opinion this “is because of movements like Landcare as they have definitely converted a lot of landholders into thinking about things like habitat, wildlife, windbreaks and beautification.”
In the last 20 years the thinking has changed from fewer trees to more trees. The original idea of removing the trees was to provide more grazing and production land and now 20 years later they have come full circle and encourage more and more trees to be planted. Little thought actually went into what removal of trees actually meant for things like salinity and rising water tables. Australian native trees evolved to be salt tolerant and are needed to keep the balance between salt and water. Without the trees nothing was left to absorb the water so the salt rose causing massive soil fertility issues that potentially could take generations to restore.
Allan is pleased that the farmers have realised that trees do a lot of good for the land, the birds and also provide welcome shelter for livestock as well as for erosion control along creek and river beds. Now that Landcare funding has dried up considerably a lot of farmers are financing their own tree plantations. Farmers are realising the multitude of benefits that planting native Australian trees bring. Where in the past narrow tree lines were planted; now significantly wider avenues are planted so for Allan’s business, this means more trees are required.
It wasn’t all that long ago the Government was paying landholders to cut the trees out. Now it’s come full circle. This is good news for McDonald Farm Trees and good news for the industry as a whole.
Allan can be contact on email via farmtree@tpg.com.au or via (02) 6345 1922.
If you would like to be in our spotlight for next month’s e-newsletter, contact Jodie in the office on 1300 130 123.