MANAGEMENT
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
NEWS
Dairy awards open up doors.
Green machine upgrades for 2022. PAGE 28
Meat man’s mission comes to an end. PAGE 8
PAGE 25
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS MARCH 23, 2021: ISSUE 722
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Rotten times? PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz
HAWKES BAY’S multi-million dollar apple industry is facing a crisis like never before – all because there are not enough people available to pick the apple crop. Paul Paynter, director of Johnny Appleseed – one of the largest growers in Hawkes Bay – describes the situation as an impending crisis. He says that unless they get suffi-
cient pickers, there is a serious chance that $100 million worth of apples won’t be picked this season. In the case of his own orchards, Paynter told Rural News that it’s likely that 20% of his fruit will not be picked. Johnny Appleseed has 500ha of apples, a further 200ha in stonefruit and another 30ha in pears. “It’s been traumatic here and you can drive down the road and you can see a Royal Gala block that hasn’t been picked
and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be picked,” he says. “We are better off than most because we are a relatively large organisation and probably about the fourth largest apple producer in NZ – so we are well resourced. We have an HR department and a bit of sophistication and can attract people and we have got pretty good campaigns going – yet we are still really struggling. “We need another 140 pickers in the next week or so and I
have no idea where we are going to find them.” Paynter says the apple industry is worth more than half a billion dollars to the Hawkes Bay economy and with upwards of 20% of the crop not being picked that will have a huge impact on the region. He says if the crop isn’t being picked, and wages are not going into the community, the whole regional economy will suffer financially. • See what’s the cause of the apple picker shortage – page 5
Johnny Appleseed’s Paul Paynter describes the situation as an impending crisis.
MESSAGE SENT!
SHEEP AND beef farmers have sent a clear message to the Beef+Lamb NZ board by voting out one long-time director and nearly dumping another. On the back of a controversial board backed resolution to give directors a hefty pay rise, long-time northern South Island director Phil Smith has been dumped with Ashburton farmer Kate Acland thrashing him by 2,792 votes. Meanwhile, northern North Island director Martin Coup was only re-elected by 547 votes ahead of challenger Gray Baldwin. Beef+Lamb NZ directors have come under criticism about the process and appropriateness of a board resolution, presented at the meeting, asking for a substantial increase in director fees. This move became more controversial, following revelations that the board had disestablished the Directors Independent Remuneration Committee (DIRC) late last year, which was set up in 2016 as an independent body to recommend any changes in director remuneration. Farmers had expressed concerns about the removal of the DIRC, which now sees the BLNZ board deciding for themselves about how much they are to be paid. • Farmers say no! – page 4
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