Getting fruit and veggies to kiwis in need
A new charity has been launched to get fresh fruit and vegetables to Kiwis in need.
Alastair Hulbert, chief executive officer of Turners & Growers Ltd, has announced the appointment of Darren Drury as executive general manage pipfruit effective this week.
Drury, who is currently the general manager sales & marketing pipfruit at Turners & Growers Ltd, will take up the newly created position immediately.
Hulbert says: "This role and appointment builds on the recently developed corporate strategy where the increased focus and development of the Pipfruit category was identified as critical for the continued global growth and success of the company. Pipfruit is Turners & Growers largest category and accounts for a significant proportion of the company's revenue."
Over recent times there has been considerable work with the board dedicated to looking at how best to structure the leadership of the Pipfruit business to deliver the strategy, he says. Through this process the decision was made to move away from a structure where two roles lead the Pipfruit category, and to disestablish both the general manager pipfruit category and the general manager sales & marketing pipfruit roles.
In their place the new senior executive position, executive general manager pipfruit, was created with the objective of bringing increased coordination to the sale, operation and growing functions.
As the business worked through this process Tony Motion, the general manager pipfruit category, expressed his wish to pursue other opportunities outside of Turners & Growers. The company thanks Tony for his significant contribution to the Pipfruit category over the last 20 months.
Commenting on Drury's appointment, Hulbert states that Drury has extensive industry experience, holding significant positions in fresh produce export companies for over 25 years. Over the last 10 years Drury has developed a very strong understanding of the Pipfruit category gained while holding senior roles across the Delica and Turners & Growers businesses.
Hulbert adds "Through his time with the organisation Darren has forged strong business relationships with both our market partners and our grower suppliers. Drury's experience, insight and understanding of the entire supply chain and his vision for the expansion of the business will be extremely valuable as he leads the future development of our global Pipfruit category."
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.

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