Kia ora! Hello…I am in Hamilton New Zealand. Excited to be back. Our season is coming to an end so still racing out at weekends to search clients properties for the elusive black gold. All truffle in NZ are grown through inoculated trees in orchards. There are over 200 here, and have anywhere from 20 to 6000 plus trees. Most of my clients have young trees and are not producing at present. However, last saturday Indy, my 3 year old Cocker Spaniel, located 4 ripe truffles and several that were starting to decay. I then ran my 8 month old Spring Spaniel and he located one of the truffles we left in the ground, so thrilled with his progress. It is so amazing to teach a dog to search for a scent, and even more amazing how much they teach you along the way. I come away from each session with an aha moment and more homework!
Looking forward to talking with everyone.