YOUR INDUSTRY
SUMMERFRUIT NZ CONFERENCE REPORT
Former chair Tim Jones presents the Mack Nicol award to Tim Hope
Summerfruit focus on way ahead Focusing on a visible pathway forward underpinned the Summerfruit NZ Conference in Napier on 9 and 10 June. By Rose Mannering Chief executive Kate Hellstrom says the conference provided opportunity for growers and industry participants to get together and celebrate wins after a very challenging year. “Last year’s conference fell victim to Covid, so it was very important to us to get together as an industry,” she says. The conference provided a good environment to think about challenges ahead. Speakers covered the economy, market access, export freight, labour, the science of growing, water, and digital media. The conference, aptly named “Growing Strong – Success in a Changing World” focused on increasing resilience across a broad platform: our orchards, the environment and personally. “We had a great mixture of speakers, which 44
The ORCHARDIST : JULY 2021
were well received; everyone found something of interest,” she says. Bay View summerfruit grower Roger Brownlie (Hawke’s Bay) was elected as chairman, replacing Tim Jones who was recognised for his ability for strategic thinking, after a six-year stint in the chair. Tim has been on the Summerfruit NZ board for 13 years, and is the chief executive of 45 South, which owns and manages 400 hectares of cherries. He is also a member of the Central Otago Fruitgrowers’ Association and a director of Seasonal Solutions. Roger Brownlie says he is happy to take over the chairman’s role when the organisation is in good health. He believes having north and south represented at the top will only
