New Summerfruit NZ CEO
Dean Smith has been in the role of CEO of Summerfruit NZ for about four months, having succeeded Kate Hellstrom at the end of September.
The summerfruit season has started well with plenty of high-quality fruit available and a workforce to pick it, according to Summerfruit NZ.
Chief executive Kate Hellstrom says cherry, nectarine, peach and other summerfruit growers are reporting a positive start to the 2022-2023 season.
“Fruit quality is good plus there are more people than last year available to pick the fruit,” she says.
“This is due to the attraction and retention campaigns that the industry has been running for the past few years, and the fact it is easier to enter New Zealand now our borders have been freed up.”
Hellstrom adds that having enough people to pick and pack is vital.
“There is nothing worse for a grower than fruit being left on trees and going to waste, which is the situation some of our growers have been in, in recent years.”
She says the summerfruit workforce is made up of young and older New Zealanders, as well as Working Holiday Visa scheme holders and workers from the Pacific.
“It is heartening that things are looking more positive for this season. Now all we need is the weather to play ball and there to be no bad weather events like hail over the next few weeks.”
In early 2020, the Otago export cherry crop was badly affected by rain and cold temperatures.
Summerfruit export volumes are expected to be higher than last year, but this will be subject to a number of factors – especially the weather.
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.