Lydia Goodman named Central Otago Young Grower of the Year 2025
Lydia Goodman has been crowned the Central Otago 2025 Young Grower of the Year regional winner.
New technologies on the horizon were the focus of the recent Horticulture Conference 2019, says HortNZ chief executive Mike Chapman.
This was signalled in the theme ‘Our Food Future’. Chapman says attitude shifts overseas and in NZ present opportunities for the rapidly expanding industry. More and more people want and can afford a healthy diet, rich in plant based foods.
Despite the sector’s good outlook, there are major challenges ahead, such as retaining sufficient high quality land to grow crops, rather than seeing the land gobbled up by urban sprawl.
Access to water and a skilled labour force are also essential ingredients for the future of the industry, Chapman notes.
Conference speakers talked about new technologies and consumer trends, and a large exhibit area enabled attendees to talk to companies developing new products.
“If you were a grower at this conference you would have gone away with new ideas and new robotic concepts to use in your business,” Chapman told Rural News.
“The speakers and exhibitors were mixing with growers and talking about all sorts of robotic applications. We also had a good contingent from MPI talking to them about how we can integrate these robotic technologies.”
Plenty of networking time was provided and the growers appreciated this, Chapman says.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The 2024-25 season apple harvest has “well and truly exceeded expectations”, says Apples and Pears NZ chief executive Karen Morrish.
Through collaborative efforts with exhibitors, visitors, and industry partners, Fieldays says it is reaffirming its commitment to environmental responsibility with new initiatives for 2025.
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