He is talking with other farming groups like DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb and Federated Farmers to look for possible collaborative approaches to their similar challenges.
President since the end of July, Raine grows apples, boysenberries, kiwifruit, hops and blackcurrants on several Nelson properties. “I still have a lot of learn. I have been a [HortNZ] director for over two years, but I‘m always thirsty for more knowledge,” he told Rural News.
He is not a vegetable grower so is keen to learn more in that field, and in the first 12 months he plans to get around most growing areas.
But he says New Zealand horticulture is in a “good space” with the two big export crops, kiwifruit and apples, doing well. “We are coming out of the dark days of Psa –Zespri and Kiwifruit Vine Health have worked hard to get on top of the Psa. We are not going to eliminate it but everyone is working hard to learn to live with it.
“We have come from a pretty dark era and a lot of growers can now see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Apples are also in a good space. “Despite the high dollar, we asking for a reasonable return and by and large we are getting it.” As a grower he has confidence in Pipfruit NZ’s direction.
The HortNZ board is due to sign a new five-year strategic plan next month and to hold discussions with 18 affiliated product groups. “We are talking with industry because we are trying to be more transparent with them than we have in the past.
“We are spending growers’ money, so we are trying to be inclusive and show people what we want to do and how the individual growers or group sectors fit into the overarching plan.”
Previous plans did not have as much detail. “We don’t have a sufficient resource to do everything so we are trying to target things where we need more depth and forget about things that weren’t important.
“It’s about doing things in a better way than in the past.”
