Truffles can be very tricky to grow. While large portions of the state's land is suitable for growing truffles, only a small number of South Australians are giving it a go. Still, they can fetch more than $1,500 per kilogram, making them a profitable business for those able to farm them. Also, it can be a difficult industry to get started in. Farmers have to plant trees inoculated with truffle spores and wait up to 12 years before they start producing commercial levels of the fungi. If they manage to grow some truffles, a specially trained dog or pig is needed to locate them.
Australian Truffle Industry Association vice president Katherine Faull said the state was behind larger producers such as Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria but interest was growing.
"There are probably more truffle farms here than the general public would be aware of," she said. "We have at least 20 truffieres in South Australia at the moment with well over 6,000 truffle trees planted across the state."
South Australia has truffle orchards in the Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley, Fleurieu Peninsula and the Limestone Coast.
Source: abc.net.au