Hawke's Bay teen helps rural families access affordable school uniforms
Hawke's Bay teenage entrepreneur Hugo Moffett is helping the rural community access cheaper school uniforms, all without leaving their homes.
A partnership between two technology companies in Hawke's Bay is making orchard data more easily accessible to growers using new interactive online heat maps.
Fruition Hawke's Bay has provided Green Atlas Cartographer orchard scanners to growers in New Zealand since 2019, allowing them to precisely count buds and fruit on all their trees and vines.
Up until now the detailed data generated by these scanners hasn’t always been simple for growers to absorb at a glance, so Fruition worked with agritech expert HortPlus to create and launch interactive digital maps on their client portal.
Fruition Hawke’s Bay managing director Jack Hughes described the new maps as “making it easy to see what is happening in the orchard and to decide what action needs to be taken”.
“The new maps are a handy tool to help growers make informed decisions on where priorities are and how crops can be optimised sooner, easier and cheaper.”
Fruition is the exclusive New Zealand partner for Green Atlas scanners. Hughes says four machines covered 2600ha of kiwifruit and apples in 2023-2024, and Fruition was excited about the Cartographer’s ability to simultaneously collect fruit size, number and leaf area data.
“This combination provided a fundamental measure of crop load and the capacity of trees to size fruit to market requirements.
“There’s more work to do in figuring out the ‘optimums’ for different variety and growing system combinations and we’re focused on working with our clients to develop simple, practical metrics that are easily adopted on the orchard,” he says.
The new maps developed by HortPlus for Fruition Hawke’s Bay aren’t the first time the two companies have collaborated. The partnership has spanned more than 10 years, resulting in a swathe of new technology and resources for Fruition clients.
Other innovations developed for Fruition by HortPlus include the TrappaTM app that certified scouts employed by Fruition can use to record the type and number of pest insects caught in pheromone traps placed around apple orchards.
The data recorded in the app is automatically pulled through to Fruition’s client portal, providing Fruition consultants and apple growers with data to inform pest control decisions.
The ‘hot trap’ function shows relative pest pressure throughout each orchard and guides block sub-division decision making.
HortPlus and Fruition have also worked together to make soil moisture data available on the Fruition portal by displaying data uploaded from soil moisture sensors on orchards.
This data shows how much water plants are using and where in the soil profile they are taking it from. Recommendations help growers make informed decisions around if, when and how to irrigate.
HortPlus director Mike Barley said working on leading edge technology with another business in the Hawke’s Bay, where HortPlus was founded, was a source of pride and indicative of the strength of the region as one of New Zealand’s agri-tech hubs.
“Over the years Fruition Hawke’s Bay has always been open to new technology and investing in technology that will add value for New Zealand growers – it’s been a natural and productive partnership.”
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…
OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?