increase font size
Wattie's says it hit a new record crop this season.
Wattie’s says the latest tomato harvest season has seen some of the highest yielding tomato paddocks in the company’s 50-year history.
This season, Wattie’s says it hit a new record with a crop of 140 metric tons per hectare, the equivalent of 5.6kg per plant.
It makes for a 5% increase on the highest yield previously achieved and is 40% higher than Wattie’s 5-year average yield.
Twenty years ago, the 5-year average tomato harvest was 80 metric tons per hectare.
The tomato harvest season started in mid-February and since then has been going 24 hours a day. Over that time, Wattie’s harvested and processed 39,000 metric tons of field tomatoes.
Wattie’s managing director Neil Heffer says that collectively the company’s Hawke’s Bay tomato growers have contributed to a ‘bumper season’.
“Our harvest team have worked extremely hard to keep the machinery operating through several wet weather spells to maximise our yield from each tomato crop. We couldn’t be prouder of the team in delivering the key ingredient to many of our Wattie’s products,” Heffer says.
“We are fortunate to have a local family helping with the tomato harvest, a family that has done so for more than two decades. They operate the harvesters and tractors right through the harvest season, approximately 70 days, day and night and we are extremely grateful for their support again this year.”
Wattie’s tomatoes are used in products like tomato paste as well as peeled, diced and canned tomato products. Others are put through a tomato evaporator and turned into condensed tomato paste which is then used in soups, baked beans, and tinned spaghetti.
OPINION: New economic modelling confirms what many of us in Hawke's Bay have long understood - getting water security right for this region is one of the most important decisions we face as a community. Not just for farmers, but for everyone who lives, works and builds a future here.
Perrin Ag has appointed Vicky Ferris as its new Hawke's Bay consultant.
You'll be hard-pressed to find a more emphatic tribute to family than the one Jenny Dobson conveys via her Hawke's Bay wines.
Sheep and beef farmers in Hawke's Bay are being urged to keep a close eye on the wells that supply water to their stock.
Fears of a serious early drought in Hawke’s Bay have been allayed – for the moment at least.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
Ravensdown shareholders have elected Jane Montgomery and Kate Acland to the Ravensdown Board for three-year terms, following a closely contested director election.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
