Growers are reminded that any mixed waste created by Cyclone Gabrielle must be burnt by 1 November 2023.
Given the drying conditions we encourage you to burn your mixed waste as soon as – you can check here Can I light a fire? | Fire and Emergency New Zealand (checkitsalright.nz)
You need to separate as much prohibited waste as possible before you burn, and a Fire Management Plan must be completed at least 2 days before a fire is lit – do that here HBRC Fire Management Plan: Plan Contents – Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (datacomsphere.co.nz)
If we move into a restricted fire season, fire permits will be required from Fire and Emergency NZ to burn mixed waste (ie. the OIC does not override the need to comply with FENZ requirements) so best to get required burning done conditions are suitable and burning best practice can be followed
Further information can be found on the HBRC website Orders in Council – Burning | Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (hbrc.govt.nz) or contact Charlotte Drury on 027 3225595 or Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz
New Zealand Apples and Pears are very pleased to welcome Karen Morrish their new CEO. Karen has 20 years of experience in the horticulture industry across both growing and exporting. She has been an independent consultant to the industry and was the Group Health and Safety, Compliance and Sustainability Manager at Scales Corporation and Mr Apple.
Karen has significant governance experience and currently sits on the international GlobalG.A.P. advisory board and various local boards and was a New Zealand Apples and Pears board member from 2019 – 2020.
Karen commenced her role on Monday 28 August, for a fixed one-year term, and is based at the New Zealand Apples and Pears office in Hastings.
Kia ora koutou,
What a change it is to see the sun for a few days, here’s hoping for more of the same.
EIT classes are progressing well. Level 4 students have just started the fifth of their 6 courses for the year, looking at fruit management from dormancy through to December. For the practical part of this assessment we expect them to be involved with supervising a thinning crew as well as understanding the management of bees, the use of thinning sprays etc. They have set up a plant growth regulator experiment on some beans at EIT and will be reporting back to you how this experiment goes.
Our two cohorts of Level 3 students have recently completed propagation and irrigation as part of the block development course. Please give them opportunities to be involved with tree planting, practice their fruit support skills as well as do some irrigation maintenance. These large groups are moving along really well, and Steven and I are optimistic the majority will manage to complete this big course this year.
Our chainsaw courses were really well subscribed, and if you have specific training requirements please let us know, we are always open to suggestions to meet industry needs.
We still wait for direction from Te Pukenga about fees next year, but will let everyone know once we do.
Noho ora mai,
Clare
Are you looking to engage professional services to assist you in developing a recovery plan and/or access finance?
The horticulture industry has obtained funding through the North Island Weather Events Fund (NIWE) to pay third-party advisors to support your financial recovery.
This may mean helping you to prepare business plans for your bank, or to support your application to the Kānoa Primary Producer Finance Scheme and/or The Treasury Loan Guarantee Scheme.
The funding is limited and will be allocated based on the number of qualifying applications submitted. At the conclusion of the EOI process, successful applicants will be issued with confirmation to redeem the support payment with their nominated advisor.
We encourage all growers materially impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle and/or Cyclone Hale to submit an EOI by completing the following simple online form before Friday, 22 September 2023.
The only parties with access to the information you supply in your EOI will be those directly involved in the administration of this funding. These parties are bound by the Privacy Act.
If you have any questions about submitting an EOI or this funding, please email contact Dean from HBFA on 0272 33 99 00 or manager@hbfa.co.nz
The Hawke’s Bay Horticulture Advisory Group (HBHAG), has prepared a summary document with information about various funding and support available to Cyclone Impacted Growers. To download this form please see HAG info sheet V4 05 Sep (1)
Congratulations to Jan Buter from T&G, winner of the 2023 Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year. Congrats also to Danielle Sammons from Johnny Appleseed (2nd), William Horsefield from Rockit Apple Global (3rd) and the other finalists for a fantastic level of competition. Our industry is in good hands.
Congratulations to Graham Hope, the 2023 recipient of the Joe Bell Trophy for outstanding service to the industry.
Graham’s career spans over an impressive 5 decades, after leaving school early to begin working on his father’s orchard in Twyford to becoming the owner/operator of Trust Fruit and in 2007 transitioned to managing the Crasborn Group orchards, which is now known as Kiwi Crunch. Orcharding runs in his blood, his father Norman Hope was an early pioneer of horticulture in Hawke’s Bay and the ‘Hope’ name became synonymous within the Pip fruit and Stone fruit Industries.
Graham Hope – we salute you.
What a fantastic week we have just had with our annual Hawkes Bay Fruit Growers’ Association’s Young Fruit Grower of the Year (HBYFG) competition. Lindisfarne College served as the competition’s host for the first time this year.
The day began at 7:30am with a Mihi whakatau in the school chapel. Being an Old Boy of the College, this was particularly significant to me. There were 8 exceptional competitors who gave their all on the given day. We included a leadership panel this year for the first time, and Te Radar served as the moderator. The same topic was presented to each contestant, and they had two minutes to talk about it before Radar asked a question and the floor was then extended to the audience for general inquiries.
Around 300 guests from business, sponsors, and friends attended the finale on Friday night for dinner and candidate speeches. What a fantastic evening we had, with 8 amazing talks. Jan Buter won the HBYFG in 2023, with Danielle Sammons finishing in second place. Congratulations also to the other six finalists, Karlee, Ben, Sven, Shaye, William, and Nga. I salute each of you for having the bravery to participate in what is becoming an iconic event.
I want to thank all our sponsors because without your help, this competition would not be possible. A special thanks also to the entire HBFA team for all of their efforts in making this event a success. I’d also like to express my gratitude to Jo Pentreath for all she has done to make the event such a success. Jo has been raising her own bar for the past three years, and regrettably for us, this year’s HBYFG competition and dinner will be Jo’s last.
The event also incorporates the awarding of the Joe Bell Trophy for outstanding contribution to our industry. It was fantastic to see this awarded to Graham Hope who has given so much to fruit growing in our region.
On a separate but extremely important topic, I want to urge all growers and landowners impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle to submit their applications to the Sediment and Debris Fund by August 31st. I also remind you to lodge expressions of interest to the NIWE Primary Producer Finance Scheme – the deadline for this is 8th September 2023.
Contact Dean at HBFA if you require assistance or advice, and he will point you in the proper direction.
Ngā mihi
Brydon Nisbet
HBFA President
Scion rooting is a leading cause of variability through the block.
Scion roots will negate any effect/benefit from the rootstock. This results in an excessively vigorous tree (figure 1) that becomes unmanageable and in time highly unprofitable. Once the scion roots take hold it’s extremely difficult to control the tree with the only viable option left is to remove the tree.
This can all be avoided at planting time. Ensuring the trees are planted at the correct depth. Rigorous quality checks during the planting process will pay dividends.
It’s critical your planting team can identify the graft union, especially if your trees are bench grafted. The bud &/or the bench graft union must be 100-150 mm above the soil surface after the tree has been healed in (Fig 2 & 3). Remember the tree does settle down after being planting, so this must be allowed for.
Dean Rainham,
Agfirst Horticultural Consultant
Kia ora koutou,
We were so pleased to see the YFG competition being so well supported this year, and huge thanks to the organisers, sponsors and managers who have managed to find the energy to support this great event.
We are flat out at EIT with a lot of teaching underway, and now a lot of assessments being returned as well, which is awesome. The vast majority of students are keeping up with the timeline and will get the majority of their courses complete before they get too busy on orchard.
Please start thinking about next year, and talk to your students about continuing their study. The majority of Level 3 students usually step up to Level 4, and some Level 4 go to Level 5. but an extra year on orchard may be of greater benefit than class time, especially as Level 4 requires experience with supervising staff. Students can opt to complete courses over two years as well.
Level 5 Fruit and Post Harvest programs are both running out of the Hastings campus. Anyone interested in expanding their management skills can join these programs at any point, so if you’re looking to advance you careers, these are good industry recognise qualification to aim for.
We are also managing to run a few stand alone chainsaw courses. If you have permanent staff needing this training please contact Clare.
Noho ora mai,
Clare
