A South Island couple who transformed their 1.36ha lifestyle block into a potentially lucrative truffle farm have gone fishing, leaving behind their 'funghi gold’ and a shed full of toys.
Ten years ago Greg Martin and Lisa Rodgers planted 400 truffle trees on the paddock of their lifestyle property at 118 Lachlan Avenue, in Hawea Flat, Wanaka, which goes to auction on February 4.
A self-confessed “tree man”, Martin said they landed on truffle trees because the paddock wasn’t big enough for too many animals and they had already dismissed the idea of olive trees and saffron.
“Harvesting is the easy part, planting the trees was the hardest part.”
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The trees started harvesting truffles three years ago and during that time they have sold off the White Bianchetto and Black Perigold variants to a local restaurant, a private chef and a Christchurch trufflery that was using them to reinoculate their seedlings.
The luxury item sells for around $3,500 per kilogram and with one in four trees producing between 200 grams and 1kg annually, Martin said there is potential for someone to develop it into a cash cow.
But they may first have to train a smart pup or pig to sniff out the truffles first or borrow someone else’s.
“It will pull a good income. If you go the maths on that, it’s about $3,500 a kilo for them – if you do your maths on it, it will be a good income in years to come.
“We’ve done the truffle butter and the truffle honey. There’s quite a few things you can do with them, but we had got to that stage pretty much now – it just really needs someone to come along full of beans and make a go of it and take it to the next level.”
Rodgers added: “There’s opportunity to to do truffle hunts down the track and pair it with the wineries and do a dinner.”
But despite relocating north to the Marlborough Sounds to be near the fish and spend their days boating, the couple say they will miss the impressive outlook and how safe and secure the area surrounding the property which was just bare land when they bought it 16 years ago.
“It’s a great family home – huge deck. The views are amazing – you can see Treble Cone.” There’s also solar panels and a heated pool.
Property Brokers listing agent Misha Vokralova said it’s the first truffle farm she’s ever had the privilege of selling and would suit a young family looking for a relatively passive income.
“You don’t have that many truffle farms around especially in Otago – it's like a hidden gem.”
Vokralova said the four bedroom, two-bathroom home was spacious and even came with a large she that came with everything in it.
“It comes with a 4WD, a ride-on, a lawnmower. They are just leaving everything behind.”
