Don't put fruit, vegetable production at risk!
Don’t put vital domestic fruit and vegetable production at risk. That’s the message from Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) to the Government.
Horticulture can expect to see more talent and capital in the industry with Maori, says Plant and Food chief executive officer Peter Landon-Lane.
There are many Maori businesses and people involved in horticulture, he told the Horticulture NZ conference in Nelson today.
As they were in the Te Tau Ihu region he acknowledged the Wakatu Corporation, owners of the Kono brand and wine, horticulture and seafood producers.
Across New Zealand, Maori now own 10% of the kiwifruit sector, he said. Many iwi and Maori organisations are looking at opportunities across a wide spectrum of horticultural crops and food products.
This new interest and investment from Maori promises big things for horticulture – great potential in land and capital but also new opportunities in branding, potentially new crops and a pool of young people who will help meet the need for talent.
A third of Maori are under the age of 15, so there's a talent pool, he said.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.