Hort News March 2019

HORTNEWS MARCH 2019, ISSUE 3

New Zealand bidding for global avocado event – Page 6

ISSN 2624-3490 (print) ISSN 2624-3504 (online)

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Apples prove to be a blast for manager PETER BURKE

peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

BEN JAMES is a big lad, but he’s found his niche in life managing the orchard industry’s smallest apple variety -- the unique Rockit.

James has 18 staff at the Puketapu, Hawkes Bay, business where he is orchard and pipfruit technical manager for Rockit; he is responsible for 180ha of trees.

James grew up on a pipfruit and stone fruit orchard in Hawkes Bay, left school and joined the military and later built houses, but when the global financial crisis struck the building industry he lost his job.

He then returned to the work with which he had a great affinity – horticulture. He needed an income to buy Christmas presents for his young daughter and took whatever work he could get.

“I got a job as a casual horticulture worker doing summer pruning in 2010, then went on to tractor driving at harvest time,” James told Hort News.

“In the middle of 2012, I entered the Young Fruit Grower of the Year contest and won the Hawkes Bay competition but missed out on a placing at the national event.”

However, the following year he won both the Hawkes Bay competition and the National Young Grower of the Year event.

This prestige boosted his career and in 2014 he joined Rockit Management Services in the roles he now holds.

“That was the year of our first commercial crop.” he says.

The miniature Rockit apple was developed by Plant and Food Research, but there was little interest initially in commercialising it until a Hawkes Bay

Rockit Apples orchard manager Ben James says he’s found his niche with the small apple that is creating a big fuss in the market.

businessman took it on (he is no longer involved).

Today Rockit Global Ltd, in Havelock North, markets the variety. About 5000 tonnes of Rockit apples are produced annually and exported mostly to Asia and to the UK. The company has sold licences to growers to produce the apples in the US, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Australia, but these are

mostly sold in those domestic markets.

James says a major point of difference for Rockit apples is the packaging: being small they are packed in clear tubes of various sizes, not sold loose or in large plastic bags like other apples.

Rockit Global Ltd produces only Rockit apples – there’s no room for other varieties. It’s a challenge to pick large quantities of fruit in a short time, but it is done well, James says.

“For consumers there are many attractions: a definite appeal to convenience, fantastic eating, full of nutrients and it stores like no other apple.

“We market it as a specialty product and a convenience snack product. Compare ‘Rockit’ to other snacks – such as chippies and chocolate bars – and see the cost of Rockit per kilo is an attractive price point and it’s healthy as well.”

The smaller apple appeals to children and fits easily into lunchboxes, James says. “Since I have worked here I haven’t met a kid who hasn’t liked ‘Rockit’.”

For James the job ticks all the boxes in job satisfaction -- the outdoor life, the people he works with and the product.

“I love my job and wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he says.

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2 HORTNEWS

MARCH 2018

NZ hops brewing a good story and beer!

Nigel Malthus

ABOUT 150 years after they were first grown in the Nelson district, hops are enj30oying healthy demand on the back of an international trend towards increasingly complex and sophisticated beers.

“A lot of the big popular craft brands internationally are now looking for aroma and flavour characteristics that are quite punchy, with lots of big high tropical fruit notes and things like that,” Doug Donelan, chief executive of New Zealand Hops Ltd told Hort News.

The company is a cooperative of 28 growers

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which processes, packs and distributes hops from a base at Appleby, just west of Richmond in the Nelson district.

It has supported a professional plant-breeding programme since the 1950s. In 1972, New Zealand became the first country to commercially produce hops from triploid hop cultivars in response to international brewers’ demand for seedless hops.

Members now grow dozens of different varieties, some licensed under proprietary rights and others open-source.

Donelan, who came to the co-operative from a background in brewing in his native Sydney,

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explains that beer without hops is a sweet malty drink.

“When you put hops in it, all that sweetness doesn’t dissipate completely but it gets tempered and balanced out.

Beer is bitter and people like that -- the solid crisp bitterness beer has on the back of the palate.”

However, he says that 25 or 30 years ago no-one cared much about flavour and aroma, so long as beer was wet, bitter, cold and fizzy.

Now, growers are focussed on developing and promoting “quality hops” with all the flavours and aroma characteristics that craft brewers look for, Donelan says.

Beer styles internationally have changed considerably. While brewers were formerly notorious for keeping their recipes in their heads, it is now common to have not just one, but two or three different hops added at different points of the process.

Donelan says the tastes and aromas of different hops can be very

subtle. “The people who are into beer – and there are lots these days – they know all this stuff, they know all the talk and they can do the brewer-speak.

“Some of them can tell you what hops there are.

They can pick it up they’ll smell it and go ‘yeah that’s Motueka or that’s Nelson Sauvin in there’.”

Donelan says more Nelson Sauvin variety hops are grown locally than any other. It is a hop that matches the popular India Pale Ale style now in vogue.

Motueka is a hop with a “nice citrus-lime character” well-suited to making lagers or German or Czech-style pilsners.

Hop vines emerge from underground rhizomes each spring to grow up supporting wires, then are harvested in February or March by cutting them off at ground level.

Machines separate out the valuable cones (flowers), which are dried and pressed into pellets for distribution and supply to brewers nationally and around the world.

While most brew-

NZ Hops Ltd chief executive Doug Donelan.

ing uses the whole dried flower, the vital ingredient is a yellow substance exuded at the base of each bract (petal) known as lupulin. That contains all the hops’ hard and soft waxes, its bittering potential and all of the flavour, aroma and essential oils, says Donelan.

Different hops are used to do different things.

Some are used solely as the bittering agent, while two or three other varieties may be added at other stages of a brewing pro-

cess to provide different flavours and aromas.

The cooperative can also supply in the form of a concentrated, oily lupulin extract, although that is not as commonly traded as it used to be.

Looking like a dark runny honey, the concentrate is, however, so bitter that Donelan says anyone tasting it wouldn’t taste anything else for the rest of the day.

The US is the top export market, closely followed by UK/Europe,

Australia, the Pacific Islands and East and South-East Asia.

“You’ll find NZ hops marketed in about 60 countries and that’s growing because we’re opening up distribution. Currently we’re focussed on South America so we’re looking this year to be exporting directly into Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.” Donelan says.

The NZ hop export trade is worth $40 million – $8m through the cooperative alone.

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YOU’VE SEEN the news: New Zealand’s horticulture industry is booming and is predicted to be worth $10 billion by 2020.

Year upon year, horticulture businesses are calling for more pickers, more packers, more labour. It’s not surprising.

But with that growth they are also desperate for professional staff with university educations – people who can take up technical, management and advisory positions.

The apple industry alone estimates it will need 150 new graduates each year for the next decade.

At Massey, we work with the industry to educate students in the right skills and have them job-ready when they graduate. The trouble is the demand from the industry far exceeds the supply.

These jobs pay very well, they exploring access to international have room for career growth and markets. Staff work across the they are in an exciting industry – value chain to help deliver topnot to mention they are based in quality products to producers and consumers. the some of the But how many most liveable Kiwi schoolregions in NZ. leavers dream Many have of horticultural excellent travel careers? opportunities While the in their roles sons and daughand sometimes ters of hortiopenings to culturists and work overseas. orchardists Our graduknow about ates are among these excitthose managing ing and rewardmulti-million Massey University’s professor Peter Kemp. ing careers, dollar crops.

These jobs are in technology, many others don’t understand production, management, post- the opportunities. The word is harvest management and are slowly getting out, but it needs at the cutting edge of horticul- a boost.

Anyone can thrive in hortitural science. They may include working on automation and its culture; it doesn’t matter if you uptake by business, consulting are from Auckland or Hawke’s on improving production, or Bay, if you have the passion to

succeed and want a well-paid job you can scarcely do better than a degree in horticulture.

Massey University’s bachelor of horticultural science degree will take in its first group of students this year. This is the only standalone horticulture degree in NZ with a focus on what the booming industry needs and what the future might hold. We worked with industry to co-create it.

Graduates will gain core skills to manage the challenges; we are giving them the knowledge to excel in these industries. Students will get a well-rounded understanding of the horticultural value chains.

Massey has always strived to produce these graduates, but this revised degree is much more in-depth.

• Professor Peter Kemp is head of the Institute of Agriculture and Environment at Massey University.

HORTNEWS

MARCH 2018

Weather hits manuka honey spring months with beekeepers feeding supplements to stimulate the queen into laying more eggs. That in turn builds the hives up in time to capture the peak nectar flow. In Marlborough that may start with kamahi or pasture honey followed by the main mĂŁnuka/kĂŁnuka flowering, then on to dry land clover and borage. “We built them all up, it was looking great, the numbers were skyrocketing and then the weather turned against us,â€? Butt said. “ So instead of building into the natural flow, it all stopped. We had massive hives that didn’t have enough food coming in to support them. We had to go back to feeding them again, as a large hive of 50,000 bees will quickly starve without a decent food source.â€?

Butt says most of NZ has been adversely affected, with the lower North Island and upper South Island hardest hit due to the timing of mĂŁnuka flowering in those areas coinciding with the poor weather. “Certainly, we didn’t harvest very much. Most companies will have a shortage of mĂŁnuka honey and that is where the money is.â€?

Tessa Nicholson

IT WAS gearing up to be a season to remember for Marlborough’s Taylor Pass Honey Company.

Early spring had brought plenty of rain, temperatures were beginning to rise, and the bee’s forage sources were looking healthy. However, as beekeepers across the region began preparing for a for bumper season, nature pulled a swifty and delivered cold and wet conditions – just when they weren’t needed.

As a result, mãnuka honey – which flowers mostly pre-Christmas and is the lifeblood of most honey companies in New Zealand – will be in short supply this year.

Taylor Pass’s field operations manager Rex Butt says the spring was extremely challenging and has been exasperated by the extreme hot dry conditions that followed immediately after Christmas. “Early spring was really good, through September,� he told Hort News. “Then we got to November and December where we had eight weeks of cold and wet, which bees definitely don’t like.�

The hives are closely managed during the early

Marlborough’s manuka honey may be in short supply this year, given the extreme weather in the top of the South Island since November.

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MPI’S CHANGES to the classification of mãnuka honey, brought in last year, will mean there is little room for companies to manoeuvre.

Those changes mean all honey labelled as mãnuka must be tested by an MPI-recognised laboratory. It must be made up of five attributes – four chemicals from nectar and one DNA marker from mãnuka pollen.

Even the hot dry January weather in Marlborough wasn’t enough to break out the smiles. Butt says the secondary

food sources, such as clover and borage, were severely affected by five weeks of dry. With just 4mm of rain during January, he says both food sources have “dried up, withered and blown away�. “It has been a season of extremes.

What started with such promise and had us all excited turned to custard by Christmas,� he told Hort News. “We were all pretty down in the dumps at that stage. Then we got the extreme dry spell and got hammered by that as well.�

Butt expects they will have to begin

feeding the hives much earlier than in past years, because of the conditions. “We will be feeding probably a good four to six weeks ahead of normal unless we have a dramatic change in the weather.�

The Taylor Pass Honey Company is one of the largest vertically integrated honey companies in the South Island. It has hives in Marlborough, the Sounds, Wairau and Awatere Valleys. The diversity of food source makes the region unique.

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MARCH 2018

Good for mind and body Pam Tipa pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

SCIENCE IS moving closer to conclusively proving that blueberries can benefit memory, attention and mental health across a human lifespan.

Some latest UK research investigating the short-term effects of blueberries on cognitive performance in older adults is now being peer reviewed and should be published soon.

Professor Claire Williams, chair of Neuroscience in the School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading, outlined the research at the blueberry season official opening in Auckland.

The season runs December to March, though January sees the greatest

abundance on shelves.

Williams, an internationally acclaimed scientist, has already published breakthrough research into blueberries’ significant effect on memory and attention in children.

She revealed in Auckland that research has also shown that a single serving of blueberries early in the day in healthy older adults helps to maintain their cognitive performance through the rest of the day.

Blueberries New Zealand chairman Dan Peach says this is great news for consumers and the NZ industry.

“As the science community continues to study our fruit, and the health benefits are verified, we expect shoppers to take action and buy more regularly.

Last summer NZ families bought fresh blueberries about 3.5 times each, meaning each household consumed an average volume of 730g,” he says.

Williams has other research underway – due later this year – looking at the effects on mood of four weeks of daily consumption of blueberries.

This work is a follow-up to an acute study (Khalid et al, 2017) showing that blueberries given to young adults and 7-10 year-olds can produce boosts in positive mood two hours after consumption.

This research has shown that blueberries can help to induce better mood in adolescents.

This work is now being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Research has shown that a single serving of blueberries in healthy older adults helps to maintain their cognitive performance.

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Professor Claire Williams, chair of Neuroscience in the School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading.

PROFESSOR CLAIRE Williams is at the forefront of research into the health benefits of plant-derived chemicals.

She has found that the flavonoids found naturally in blueberries can also significantly improve memory and attention, particularly in children.

“Students can really benefit from the short-term memory boost blueberries offer if they are consumed before an exam,” she says.

In a recent double-blind trial, a group of 7-10 year olds were given a drink containing blueberries then tested on their speed and accuracy with a computer programme. The children given the flavonoid-rich blueberry beverage demonstrated 9% quicker reaction times -- without any loss of accuracy -- than those who drank a placebo.

Of particular interest, Williams noted, was that the effect seemed more noticeable as the tests became harder.

Previous trials by the same research group have shown that consuming blueberries can improve mood and simple memory recall in primary school children. These links between the flavonoids in blueberries and cognitive function in young people are a revelation to the country’s blueberry growers.

Peach says Williams’ studies on the links between diet and brain function are at the leading edge of current scientific research and the results have significant implications for all age groups.

“We’ve always known our wonderful fruit is packed full of goodness, but to have these additional benefits confirmed by Professor Williams’ research is really exciting for us.”

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HORTNEWS

MARCH 2018

No tears for onion growers Peter Burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

IT LOOKS like 2019 might be the year of the onion.

James Kuperus, executive secretary of Onions NZ, told Hort News exports of the vegetable are expected to be about $120 million – well up on last season’s $84m.

The reason for the sharp turnaround is simply the weather.

Kuperus says rain fell when it was needed, and growers have been able control pests and disease better.

“This year the crop is on par with what we would expect for this time of the year. The early onions are looking extremely good and the later crop is not quite so good but still very good,” he says.

“Growers have been able to control

James Kuperus, executive secretary of Onions NZ.

stemphylium leaf blight better and the plants have not been under stress.”

He says last year was extremely difficult for onion growers, especially in Manawatu conditions were wet for planting and then they were hit with drought. Not only Manawatu was badly hit; the rest of the country also suffered with bad weather.

“The export crop was significantly down, so the value back to the growers in export returns was down by about 20%.”

About 60% of onions are grown in the Pukekohe and Franklin District just south of Auckland. Of the rest, 15% is grown in Hawkes Bay and a similar percentage in Canterbury with the rest in Manawatu and Marlborough. Over 85% of all onions grown in NZ are exported.

Most onions from the early crop,

harvested in November, are destined for the local market and the Pacific islands -- NZ’s third-biggest market because onions are hard to grow in hot, humid conditions.

However, the biggest single market for NZ onions is the European Union – which takes 45% of the 185,000 tonnes of onion we export. Kuperus is hoping the value of exports to the EU will increase.

“NZ is negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU and we have a tariff of 5.6% on onions into the EU.

Because it is such a large market, any reduction in tariffs would be meaningful for our growers,” he says.

And there’s more good news: tariffs are due to lifted in Thailand in 2020 and there is hope of a deal with China at some stage. Indonesia is NZ’s second-largest export market, taking about 10% of our exports. Like the Pacific, the Indonesians find it hard to grow the bulb onions we produce.

“The bulb onion is mainly used by them in Chinese or European cuisine,” Kuperus explains. “But for traditional

Indonesian dishes they use mainly the smaller shallot.”

Overall, Kuperus believes the outlook for onions is good. He says while the hectares in production have remained static, the returns per hectare are up. This is due partly to increased plantings of the higher value red onions. These varieties have a shorter shelf life than the white onions, but with markets in Asia opening up red onion production is expanding.

“There are lots of opportunities for the sector,” he says.

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MARCH 2018

NZ bidding for global avocado event INDUSTRY BODY New Zealand Avocado says it will bid to have NZ host the 2023 World Avocado Congress (WAC) when the Kiwis attend the event in Columbia this September.

The four-yearly event is hosted each time by a different country.

NZ Avocado says it would, for the first time, host a four-day congress that would attract 2000 growers, researchers, marketers, tech innovators and investors from many countries.

“The NZ industry has experienced real growth with excellent returns, resulting in significant new investment into the industry,” says NZ Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular.

“This is our chance to showcase the industry and celebrate avocados here in NZ. We would offer our global avocado

ABOUT NEW ZEALAND AVOCADO ● The NZ avocado industry is set to quadruple sales to $280m and triple productivity by 2023 ● The industry is working in export and domestic markets, supported by stakeholders and Crown research institutes ● NZ is the ninth-largest avocado exporter ● At least 4000ha of avocado trees are planted in NZ, mostly in Bay of Plenty and Northland.

friends a once-in-alifetime opportunity to visit our stunning country.”

Tony Ponder, chair of NZ Avocado, highlights the opportunity for the industry and for NZ in hosting.

“It is a terrific

opportunity for our growers to attend a world event, network with some of the largest producers in the world and learn firsthand about current and emerging innovation and technology.”

Tourism New Zealand supports the industry’s

hosting bid, says its chief executive Stephen England-Hall.

“Events like this benefit NZ by bringing together local and international experts whose knowledge and experience will help boost the NZ avocado industry and showcase our expertise on the world stage.

“The avocado industry employs thousands of NZers, providing jobs NZ-wide. The congress will provide access to global science and innovation to further grow the sector, benefiting the country and NZ.” Scoular says the congress is intended to expand knowledge and is a great opportunity for growers and industry professionals to hear about and discuss the changing global avocado

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NZ Avocado will find out at the September congress whether its bid has succeeded.

NZ Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular says the world congress will be a chance to showcase the industry and celebrate avocados here in New Zealand.

HORTNEWS

MARCH 2018

7

NZGI is running a recruitment campaign – targeting local students, unemployed Kiwis, retirees and backpakers – to promote seasonal jobs in the kiwifruit sector.

Kiwifruit sector front-foots recruitment campaign to find workers THE KIWIFRUIT industry is pulling out all the stops to make sure the 2019 harvest, starting mid-March, isn’t short of workers.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated (NZKGI) chief executive Nikki Johnson says the amount of green and gold kiwifruit on the vines is forecast to be even higher than last year’s harvest – meaning 18,000 workers will be needed.

“Last year, the harvest was at least 1200 workers short at the peak; we don’t want a repeat of that.”

To promote seasonal jobs in kiwifruit, Johnson says NZKGI is casting its recruiting net wide, targeting local students, unemployed Kiwis, retirees and backpackers, to show them what the industry can offer and assure them they could do the work.

“While we want to employ local Kiwis as a first priority, we’re casting the net far and wide to attract as many seasonal workers as possible.”

Johnson says they will promote kiwifruit work via a big social media campaign, using Face-

book to connect with jobseekers on the recently launched Kiwifruit Jobs NZ page.

She says the industry needs lots of workers over a relatively short time -late March through June for harvesting fruit.

“And many workers are needed in the packhouses in a wide range of processing roles, as the fruit leaves the orchards to be prepared for distribution overseas.”

Johnson says a lot of incorrect information exists about working with kiwifruit, making it harder to recruit people

who would otherwise get a lot out of seasonal work.

“That includes the pay rates – they are actually very competitive. We will highlight the facts about kiwifruit work through our campaign to rectify myths.”

Johnson says kiwifruit seasonal work spans up to 48 weeks in the year.

“As NZ’s largest horticultural earner, we’d like to see more Kiwis talking to their local kiwifruit employers and discussing potential career pathways.”

SEASONAL LABOUR SHORTAGE THE MINISTRY of Social Development has declared a seasonal labour shortage across Hawke’s Bay. This allows visitor visa holders to work on orchards and vineyards in the region.

The shortage is for six weeks -- February 25 to April 5 -- in response to discussions with pipfruit leaders, industry experts and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

East Coast regional commissioner Annie Aranui says the shortage will be closely monitored and she assures the industry that the Government will reassess it in four week.

“If conditions on the ground are largely the same as now, then we will consider extending this declaration.”

Forecasts are that the peak harvest season for the Hawke’s Bay pipfruit industry may run until mid-May; it needs 300 to 400 extra people.

“We’re working hard to fill these positions and want to support New Zealanders into sustainable employment available in the industry.”

MSD says no stand-down is imposed when people have been in part-time employment or full-time employment (more than 30 hrs per week) for less than 26 weeks.

FACTS AND FIGURES ● Kiwifruit is NZ’s largest horticultural export ● NZ kiwifruit production will likely jump from 123 million trays in 2017 to 190m trays in 2027 ● The kiwifruit industry’s revenue will likely jump from $2.1 billion in 2017 to $6b by 2030 ● A critical labour shortage could hinder this growth ● The industry will need an extra 7000 workers by 2027 (compared to 2017 numbers) ● In 2017 when the national minimum wage was $15.75 the average wage for picking kiwifruit was $20.95 ● The expected picking rate in 2019 is $23.50.

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8 HORTNEWS

MARCH 2018

High-tech apple orchard sprayer

Mark Daniel markd@ruralnews.co.nz

TEN YEARS ago the FMR Group launched its V-Series Vineyard Sprayers offering improved canopy penetration, better chemical deposition and reduced spray drift.

Its R-Series Recycling Sprayer, launched in 2010, set the bar even higher, allowing vineyards to reduce costs by recycling spray otherwise lost as spray drift.

Now the company has orchardists in view, using technology proven in the V-Series.

Working with Richard and Tristram Hoddy, of Vailima Orchards in the Tasman district, the company has adapted the base technology in the V-Series to design and build a three-row sprayer specifically for orchard spraying.

These O-Series machines use key technologies common to all FMR sprayers, including the German tangential fan system from Weber, and Arag valves and electronic control equipment from Italy.

Traditional ‘airblast’ or ‘air shear’ systems rely on high pressure/ low volume jets to deliver spray.

But high levels of offtarget drift and potentially uneven deposition on target surfaces can result in poor efficiency.

Spray drift has brought pressure from lobby groups to ‘clean up their act’, so the O-Series’ Weber tangential fan works differently. It produces a full length ‘curtain’ of low velocity, high volume air which is uniform from top to bottom of the tree.

This air curtain emits from the tangential fan

FMR’s O-Series is a three-row sprayer specifically designed for orchard spraying.

with a turbulent twisting action that creates leaf movement and facilitates canopy penetration and even deposition to target plant surfaces.

The even air curtain of high volume/low pres-

sure air allows the sprayer to be set up quickly to suit specific canopy styles and to minimise off-target drift.

Operator comfort and safety are seen to in the design of all FMR spray-

ers, so the tangential fan system – even running at full speed – is very quiet.

Being 100% hydraulically driven, fan speeds can be easily adjusted to suit conditions.

The Arag Bravo elec-

HORTNEWS Introducing Hort News, a new national publication serving the needs of our booming horticulture sector.

Distributed with the leading national farming publication Rural News, Hort News will be delivered to all key horticulture regions nationwide.

It is the complete solution for readers and advertisers, covering every aspect of the wider horticulture industry – news, agribusiness, management, markets, machinery and technology.

The sprayer’s tanks are made from fibreglass, with capacities of 2300, 3000 and 4000L; all units have a fresh water tank for system purging and operator hand washing.

tronic control system allows full control from the cab, using a GPS speed sensor on the sprayer to automatically control system pressure and flow to achieve the chosen application rate.

HORTNEWS

The secret behind success – Page 6

ISSUE 1

! g n i k s i t i u r f i w i K WS.CO.NZ WWW.RURALNE

OCTOBER 2018

Peter Burke

peterb@ruralnew

s.co.nz

by consumers to A UNIVERSAL trend er lives is driving live better and healthi Zealand kiwifruit. the demand for New ve Don MathieZespri chief executi fits perfectly into son says kiwifruit strong demand that scenario, causing in all its markets. growth has Mathieson says sales

in that space “Kiwifruit is a real king this year: 150 mils and fibre and been strong again with all the vitamin about 120 million ts it has versus lion trays, up from the nutritional elemen trend we see fruits. Based on that trays last year. other Sunby the A lot of that is driven strong demand.” is good growth group of congold variety, and there He says their target contend to be very health also in Zespri green. see that sumers we specific but term, regionlong not “Looking scious, which is with consumers the board. Zespri is trend continuing tends to be across ts, great food in both green and growth good wanting great produc getting with nutrition,” China going very items that are filled gold in Asia, with News.

Mathieson told Hort

Jack Frost never sleeps Cromwell orchardist d at Simon Webb picture ss sunrise after a sleeple night of frost-fighting.

Overhead sprinklers d metho on are a comm frost ting preven of damage as water on buds releases a little as warmth into the buds ts it freezes, then protec of them from the worst the cold air.

7 page more – See

attractive price and sumers at a more d. well. has helped drive deman and they are that Taiwan is doing “It’s going well in Japan “At the same time, r-one market in number-one cononce again our numbe well and is now our are also seeing great We per capita in the year. market this Asia sumption and have seen the growth in Korea world.” lly come down. ers have always duties start to gradua European consum duty on our ters of Zespri green, “We used to pay 45% been strong suppor but with NZ’s free consumers there exports to Korea, but Mathieson says them the duties to be attracted to Suntrade agreement with have are now starting we and off come this is because Sunhave started to gold. He believes is kiwifruit to consweeter taste and been able to offer our gold has a slightly easy to eat. well and continues going is GROUP “France NEWS RURAL market for us. In to be a high growth a years, it has been the last couple of European region. real performer in the good growth in And we are also seeing s in Spain, the Benall our major market Italy.” and ny Germa elux region,

YOUR HORT NEWS!

first issue of Welcome to the Hort News. is proud Rural News Group national to launch this new the fastpublication to serve sector. growing horticultural op one-st a is News Hort lture read for all horticu industry sectors, covering , markets, news, management nery, technology, machi opinion and more.

Rural News Distributed with regions, in key horticulture the only be will News Hort tion independent publica horticulcovering the entire tural industry. it.

We hope you enjoy Adam Fricker General manager Rural News Group

RTAIN, NTY IS CECO UNCERTAILE BECAUSEFM OP VER. CR AB AR G THERE’S So it you least expect it. ts they can all hit when from FMG. It protec lightning or frost, Hail or windstorm, with Arable Crop cover ted. ard your livelihood they’ve been harves to 12 months after makes sense to safegu growing, and for up within 40 days of your crops while they’re of replanting costs if you have a loss 466.

366 0800 on 80% us to still, give us a call We’ll even pay up about us. Or better underwriting criteria planting. So ask around documentation and product is subject to our specific us on 0800 366 466. of our product and .co.nz or by calling This is a summary on our website www.fmg which can be found

We’re here for the

ry.

good of the count

FMG0828HNFPS

To book your advert contact your local sales rep

• It’s the one-stop way to reach the horticultural sector • News and information for all types of growers • 10,000 nationwide distribution • Sent out with the trusted and established publication Rural News

Publishers of

RURAL NEWS TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS

Contact: STEPHEN POLLARD National Sales Manager and Auckland Rep Ph 09-913 9637 or 021 963 166 TED DARLEY Waikato Sales Representative Ph 07-854 6292 or 021 832 505 RON MACKAY Wellington Sales Representative Ph 04-234 6239 or 021 453 914 KAYE SUTHERLAND Christchurch Sales Representative Ph 03-337 3828 or 021 221 1994