Uncategorized Archives - Page 13 of 38 - Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers' Association

Please see below for some brief updates about burning cyclone mixed waste, Hastings District Council building consents for categorised land, Heretaunga Plains Water Permits, and notification of the proposed Napier District Plan.

Burning cyclone mixed waste

The Order in Council only allows the burning of mixed waste to happen until 1 November 2023 (2 weeks away!), so if you still need to do it, get on and do it as soon as the conditions are suitable.

You can check here to see if the conditions will be ok Can I light a fire? | Fire and Emergency New Zealand (checkitsalright.nz) and remember that you need to separate as much prohibited waste as possible before you burn, and draft a Fire Management Plan 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)

Hastings District Council building consents for categorised land

In terms of building consents for categorised land, HDC have advised that applications for buildings in Category 1 will be processed more or less as per normal. Applications for work on Category 2C and 2P land will need a more involved assessment in relation to the natural hazard; and it will be very difficult to get building consent in Category 3.

There is still a lot of work to do to identify potential flood protection options for land in Category 2A so at this stage people are being advised to wait before lodging any buildings consents in those areas, as they will not be able to be progressed until more is known.

HDC is encouraging anyone within Categories 2 or 3 to met with them before they lodge a building consent application. To arrange a meeting call HDC on (06) 871 5000 and ask to talk to someone in the Building Recovery Team , or email buildingrecovery@hdc.govt.nz

Heretaunga Plains Water Permits

Any of you who have replacement water permits lodged within the regional council that are within the TANK catchments (Tutaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamu) should have received a letter asking for a further time extension, and telling you that you will receive another letter soon that outlines what the regional council understands is your ‘actual and reasonable’ water use, which is likely to be the volume that you get on your replacement water permit. To help you understand what actual and reasonable use is, and what this may mean for you, we have drafted the attached information, which also includes some examples.

Notification of the proposed Napier District Plan

An updated Napier District Plan has been notified for public consultation. Horticulture NZ is reviewing it and will likely prepare a submission. If you have any matters that you would like to raise, please get in touch with Leanne Roberts leanne.roberts@hortnz.co.nz. You can see the proposed plan here: Home – Napier City Proposed District Plan (isoplan.co.nz)

Any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch on 027 3225595, or via email Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz

Welcome late rain curtailed what threatened to be a horribly dry September. We needed it because, up until the last week, the region had received only 5% of the average September total. Rain gauges on the Heretaunga Plains had recorded one to two millimetres at best. But within a few days most areas reached near normal rainfall for the month and even above normal in northern parts of the region and the south coast.

Soil moisture had been dropping as the month progressed, falling below median levels for the time of year in areas such as Central Hawke’s Bay. The decline was accelerated by windy and warm conditions that were 2°C hotter than average during the day. The burst of late rain pushed soil moisture into healthier territory but at the expense of river flows, which mostly languished at below normal levels for the month. Groundwater stocks were about average for early spring.

The driver of our weather over the coming months is an El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole combo. Together they elevate the risk of drier than normal weather. More frequent westerly winds are typical of El Niño conditions and that’s what we are likely to get from the predicted pressure pattern, being higher than normal pressure over northern New Zealand and lower to the south of the country. This enhanced westerly flow brings into play the rain shadow effect of our western ranges and lies behind an expectation that rainfall will be lower and temperatures higher than usual in our region over the next three months.

Percentage of Normal Rainfall

Dr Kathleen Kozyniak
Principal Scientist Air
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

The region’s dry weather during August could be our world for the months ahead. The region received less than half of August’s average rainfall. The worst hit area was Tangoio, which had less then 20% of the month’s average rainfall, and the Heretaunga Plains, where only 31% fell.

August’s river flows were understandably lower than usual for the time of year. On a brighter note, groundwater levels were healthy for the end of winter, but they’re normally slower to respond to variations in rainfall. Daytime temperatures were within the normal range but it was chillier than usual overnight, which brought us a good dose of late winter frosts.

As I write, the region is being battered by warm, blustery winds. We are past the halfway point in September and the region has had only 12% of average rainfall for the month. The Heretaunga Plains has had a token 2% and the Ruataniwha Plains 5%. Soil moisture levels are dropping, and in some places, particularly the Ruataniwha Plains, our monitoring sites are showing lower than average levels for the time of year.

An El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole during our spring and summer don’t bode especially well for more rain. The predominant wind flow over the country for the next few months is expected to be from the westerly quarter. Temperatures are likely to be near or above normal and rainfall lower than usual. Gusty, spring winds aren’t overly welcome at the best of times but this year, thanks to Cyclone Gabrielle, they’re resuspending deposited silt and challenging our lungs with dusty air.

Percentage of Normal Rainfall

Dr Kathleen Kozyniak
Principal Scientist Air
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

In accordance with Clause 11, of the rules of the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association Incorporated, the executive committee shall consist of a President, Vice President and up to nine committee persons. Any elections to fill these vacancies shall be held at the Annual General Meeting.

Following the resignation of Graham Hodges, the Vice President seat has been left vacant. We are delighted to advise that Tom Dames has been nominated for this position.

This year we are seeking to fill two seats on the executive committee. One of these has been vacated by Tom Dames who was due for rotation, and the other currently belongs to Shane Flynn (Kiwi Crunch) who retires by rotation and has been nominated for re-election.

Additional nominations for the executive committee have been received from Lyssa Jones (Craigmore) and Fulton Gillies (Bostocks). As the number of nominations exceeds the seats available a ballot will be held at the September 20 AGM. All nominees will be asked to introduce themselves to members prior to the conclusion of voting.

Wondering about the migrant labour or overseas workers coming into the country? PICMI has been tracking this data using the numbers from MBIE’s Migrant Data Explorer.

The data is up to 31 August 2023.

🌱This month, the population of WHV in the country looks to be have levelled off back at pre-Covid levels, and the number of WHV issued is on the increase bringing it back to the historical base.

🌱 The population WHV (still living in the country) is stable—there are almost just over 27,000 people, the same as previous months.

🌱There has been a increase in the number of WHVs issued, reaching 4,938 (an over 40% increase in the last two months). It is now back to the average monthly count of 5,000 from previous years.

There are more details on the PICMI website including historical stats or register with them directly for updates into your inbox.

As the 2022/23 season comes to an end, we look forward to the new growing season that is upon us. Stonefruit are already in blossom with apples and pears not far behind in green tip. It’s always a great sight to see the fruit trees spring back to life after a few months in their dormant stage. This will be a particularly welcome sight for those of our growers whose orchards were damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle – provided of course that they still have trees standing.

There is still an element of the unknown when it comes to how the trees will perform where flood water inundated blocks. Many of them experienced prolonged waterlogging, huge amounts of residual silt, or both. Blossom time is when trees are most stressed; this is the time when some trees will survive, and others will not. Trees that were under water or wet silt for too long will likely struggle to survive. I’m hopeful these casualties will be at a minimum for our growers who have been through enough already.

As I drive around, I am encouraged to see some orchards that were badly impacted by the floods now totally cleared of silt and debris with many blocks grassed down. Some blocks have been pulled out and re-planted and others will hopefully be replanted next year or whenever new trees are available. We are told that this year will be an El Niño weather system. I’m sure most growers will be pleased to see the back of so much rain and look forward to a dryer growing season. Because so much of what we do is weather dependent, smart irrigation management will likely be critical this year for producing quality fruit.

It will take some time for our industry to recover, but we will, and we will grow back better, bigger, and stronger than ever. I take heart from our kiwifruit grower peers in the Bay of Plenty; when PSA hit their region and orchards in 2010, their entire industry was threatened, but with innovation and new varieties, they have recovered to become a multibillion-dollar industry.

We have our AGM on Wednesday 20^th September – all members are welcome to come and hear what HBFA have been doing for the last 12 months and what we are working on now and into the future.

Kia kaha,

Brydon Nisbet
HBFA President

When was the last irrigation reading taken on your orchard and what was the soil moisture level? How long has the soil been saturated? Is your sub-surface drainage still flowing?

Understanding the moisture levels in your soil profile will be highly valuable in determining your blocks exposure to stress, and assist in understanding the condition of your blocks prior to chemical thinning.

AgFirst’s soil moisture monitoring service has a considerable database on the soil moisture trends in Hawke’s Bay. Our soil moisture data shows a full point through the profile down to one metre depth (field capacity), and a trigger point to show when further irrigation may be necessary.

These three three soil moisture profile readings below show a comparison between the same profile in 2021, 2022 and 2023. It is important to note that this irrigation tube is on a non-cyclone effected block.

In 2023, the soil moisture content is roughly 10 VSM% above full point from 200mm profile depth right down to a metre.

This particular irrigation tube has been regularly monitored, with all readings since the 1^st April showing the soil moisture levels above full point even though the property has subsurface drainage. As expected, September 2021 and 2022 both show the profile to be much drier.

Keeping in mind that Impeded drainage or perched water tables will exacerbate any soil moisture issues. Root systems sitting in waterlogged soils will be suffering from lack of oxygen, and as a result the fine root hairs are likely to be shallow and inactive. When the soil profile does finally start to dry out, managing block irrigation is going to be important to ensure moisture levels are correct within the active rootzone.

Meg Becker

Agfirst Horticultural Consultant

For some the answer is just a maybe, and for others an absolute yes.

There are trees that are no longer in the ground, because of the previous wet season which were then finished off by Gabrielle. Some of those that are still standing, were flooded for an extended period or are still covered by silt. These trees are in recovery mode, which may take a year. There are also blocks that were nearing the end of their productive life that have been tipped over and need replacing.

Spring wake up is delayed – perhaps 10 or more days later than “normal”. In stressed trees bloom levels are low and flower quality is only average. Stone fruit is completely dependent on the quality of the buds’ stored reserves from last season. There are blocks that have not been pruned until we see what the response might be, which goes counter to the advice posed at the last apples recovery field day. We don’t yet have a good understanding of new root growth after having lived in a puddle for so long, and insufficient understanding of root growth potential before the soil dries out.

There are blocks that have flowered, had flower thinning done and are thinking about a touch up hand thin. Others are awaiting the right day for an ATS application. Cherries, like apples, are due for bud break about now, although this looks a little delayed as well.

There are orchardists that are suggesting that they are like the trees they grow, financially and motivationally on the edge. For many there have been three poor return seasons in a row. And yet there are others that are rearing to go with the prospect of a hot dry season in front of us. Fungicide use is way down compared to this time last year and I have had sprinklers going for more hours already than the total of the last growing season.

So, is this a longer-term sustainable crop for Hawkes Bay? I guess that depends on definitions to some degree, so let’s have a crack at a definition. How about ‘being able to grow a financially profitable crop next year and in 10 years’ time, without degradation of the orchard environment’. Regenerative agriculture is still a bit of a buzzy topic in some circles. Fresh Water Farm Plans (FWFP) are on the near horizon for Hawkes Bay (for Central Otago its next year), He Waka Eke Noa (About – He Waka Eke Noa) has been scuttled, and water allocation planning needs careful attention. We seem to have enough pest and fungi controls for now, but bacteria control is lacking. Being able to intensify production is held back by a lack of readily available dwarfing rootstock scion combinations.

My estimation is that permanent tree crops are naturally in a reasonably good place on the regen ag spectrum. We will get through FWFP with help from Hort NZ, the level of carbon credit accounting as was proposed was never going to be a game changer, and with good advocacy and planning we should get through water allocation. We will keep working on bacteria control with trials happening within the A-Lighter-Touch programme. Mulching is standard orchard practice which mitigates burning in all but exceptional circumstances, and fewer tractor passes are possible if we are prepared to have scruffier looking orchards.

If we do the numbers on last season’s local market wholesale prices, and then run that across high yielding blocks there is some pretty good orchard gate returns per hectare that can be made. Stitching a few seasons of this nature together is high up on the wish list.

Now we need two or three fine, dry years in a row, with reasonable returns for the fruit that will help build back the bank account. Good quality fruit that consumers want to buy repeatedly seems possible under El Nino conditions. Rivers that stay where they are put would be a bonus as would banks that extend seasonal finance to get us to harvest. For those with healthy trees this could be the year, the rest of us need to hang in there anticipating having healthy trees for 2024-25.

Now that this coming Summerfruit season is solved, it’s time to figure out why the broad beans are growing and flowering but not setting. Any tips?

Richard Mills
Summerfruit Technical Advisor
021 632559

The resource management space, like so many other things, has been dominated by cyclone related work over the last 6 months. We have endeavoured to provide clarity for you around regulatory requirements related to the cyclone, and worked really hard to get an Order in Council through Central Government that allowed the burning of intertwined, inseparable mixed waste piles that were left behind after the cyclone. Although it took some time, we did achieve that, and burning of such piles can occur until 1 November this year (2023). Anything further that the we can do to assist you in your cyclone recovery in the regulation/resource management space, please reach out and let us know and we will do our best to assist. We recognise it is a very long road to recovery and providing technical expertise in the planning/regulation space is one thing we can do to help.

Last year, we noted that work had recently commenced on the Kotahi Plan Change. This whole of region plan change has been paused because of the cyclone, and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is now reviewing how it goes about doing this work. The timeframe within which a new freshwater plan must been notified has been pushed out until December 2027 (because of resourcing challenges created by the cyclone), but it is expected that later this year/early next year the council explain how they are planning to undertake that work, and, of particular interest, how stakeholders like the Association can be involved in that process.

Decisions on the TANK Plan Change were notified on 9 September 2022. The decision was ok – it is almost impossible for decision makers to make a decision that satisfies everyone given the multiple views they are seeking to balance. Parts of the decision aren’t particularly workable from a fruitgrowers and wider horticulture perspective, and those points are the subject of an appeal by HortNZ. Fifteen other appeals were lodged (16 in total). A timetable for mediation is being worked on, and it is expected to start in the next couple of months. Any matters that cannot be resolved at mediation will proceed to an Environment Court hearing.

Notwithstanding that the TANK decision remains subject to appeals, all of the new rules had legal effect from the time the plan was notified (May 2020). This means that the regional council is applying the new test of ‘actual and reasonable’ water use when assessing replacement water permits. Water use between 2010 and 2020 will be looked at, and if your water use is very low, or you didn’t take water at all, your will need to provide the regional council with information/evidence to explain why water was not used. This is a change in approach, but one that is directed by the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and occurring across the country in areas where water resources are considered to be over-allocated. The council needs to reduce the volume of water allocated as current levels are not sustainable, and they are seeking to do this in the first instance by reducing allocations of water that has not been well utilised over the last decade or so.

A National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity came into force at the start of August (2023). This had been in development for many years. It relates to indigenous biodiversity in the terrestrial environment and seeks to maintain (or improve) current levels of indigenous biodiversity. If they haven’t already, district/city councils have to identify areas of significant indigenous vegetation or habitat of indigenous fauna on all land within boundaries. Development within those significant natural areas is restricted. Restoration is also promoted as is increasing indigenous vegetation cover.

We continue to wait for a decision from the Environment Court on the proposed Water Conservation Order (WCO) for the Ngaruroro River.

If you have questions about planning or council processes, please get in touch– 027 3225595 or Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz

Dr Charlotte Drury

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