Location:
Glenoran, Western Australia
Elevation: 201m
Tree Species:
English Oak (Quercus robur)
& Hazelnut (Corylus avellana)
Number of Trees: 36,500

Established in 2006, Oak Valley Truffles resulted from a chance meeting between three men at a Perth cafe: former Australian Test cricketer Wally Edwards; Dr. Nick Malajczuka, a CSIRO scientist specialising in mycology; and Geoff Barrett, a lawyer specialising in managed investments and the current Managing Director of Oak Valley Truffles.

Today Oak Valley is Australia's largest truffle producer. Sitting on 127 hectares of beautiful property just outside Manjimup in the deep southwest of Western Australia (about 300 km south of Perth), the truffière comprises 75 hectares of English oak and hazelnut trees.

The Oak Valley property sits on what used to be a Bunnings Brothers timber mill, processing Karri and Jarrah timber. In fact, the whole region is dominated, ecologically, by the magnificent Karri and Jarrah forests that can only thrive in rich loamy soils. Rich loamy soils are great for truffle growing, characterised as they are by a perfect mix of sand, silt, and clay, aiding drainage and moisture retention, as well as good aeration, and nutrient content. 

Manjimup is blessed with a Mediterranean climate: cold wet winters and hot dry summers. Ample annual rainfall (almost 1000ml), supplemented by six pristine natural springs feeding into the farm dam, provides the truffle farm with water.

Labradors, Kelpies, and German Short-Haired Pointers are the hardest and most enthusiastic Oak Valley workers. 18 truffle dogs lead teams of three: a dog, a dog handler and a harvester.

Working the property during truffle season (June to August) is no mean feat. The rows of trees run to a total of 148 km with each tree 4m apart, requiring each team to work over a 16km area each week. Their hard work pays off-during the 2023 truffle season the dogs identified 14 tonnes of black truffle. When the season is over, the dogs each go back home to their respective host families for eight months of R'n'R, before they do it all again.