Uncategorized Archives - Page 35 of 39 - Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers' Association

Alan Pollard, Chief Executive, New Zealand Apples & Pears

The government’s move away from its elimination strategy means that businesses will need to plan for how they will operate in an environment where there is widespread COVID community transmission. Sadly there is little government guidance to help businesses to do this.

The main push right now is vaccination – although the government hasn’t put a target on it, the higher the proportion of the population vaccinated the more likely it is that New Zealanders will enjoy greater freedom than we have experienced over the past 18 months. Employers will need to consider the implication of having both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. Employers cannot force staff to be vaccinated; they can ask staff if they are vaccinated but staff do not have to answer. However, if a staff member won’t confirm their vaccination status, an employer is entitled to assume that they are unvaccinated. Employers who wish to consider some form of COVID vaccination requirement will need to undertake a risk assessment of each position before pursuing that strategy; employers will have to be able to prove that there are significant health and safety risks or the employee will not be able to perform their duties if they are not vaccinated.

Employers will also need to be ready if COVID gets into the workplace. A key risk management tool will be the ability of work places to isolate workers if they test positive. Our level 4 protocols provide comprehensive guidance for workplaces, including dividing teams into bubbles. That means that if COVID is detected in one bubble, that bubble can be quickly isolated without the need to shut an entire operation down. If businesses operate with only one bubble covering the whole operation, then if COVID is detected the risk is that the entire operation will need to be shut down.

On the labour front, by Saturday 16 October three flights will have arrived quarantine free. These flights were the ones that were scheduled to come in via MIQ in September, but were deferred to ease pressure on MIQ, and in return converted to quarantine free. A huge amount of work has been done by the Industry Collective to stand up incoming quarantine free flights at scale from November. We also appreciate the support that we have received from employers to stand up these flights while at the same time ensuring the safety of our communities as well as our Pacific work force. It is critical that all employers follow to rules associated with quarantine free travel, particularly around vaccination and isolation. Between the Ministry of Health, MBIE and MPI there will be compliance checks undertaken, but we have always argued that employers are responsible and will not do anything to jeopardise the quarantine free travel arrangement – to continue to access the workers we must show that we are following the rules put in place.

If employers have any questions they should contact their industry representative as follows:

NZ Ethical Employers – tanya@nzee.nz
NZ Apples and Pears – emma@applesandpears.nz
NZ Kiwifruit Growers – Colin.Bond@nzkgi.org.nz; gavin.stagg@nzkgi.org.nz
NZ Winegrowers – nicola@nzwine.com
Summerfruit NZ – kate.hellstrom@summerfruitnz.co.nz
Horticulture NZ (incorporating all other crops) – mike.chapman@hortnz.co.nz

October has arrived and with it a mixed bag of weather, from continuous on and off rainy days, the occasional frost, hail, and some warm days seeing plenty of activity from our bees- welcome to Spring!

We welcome the news that Government is allowing ~14,400 RSE workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu back into New Zealand. Compulsory MIQ has been waved (14 days, costing around $7,000 per person) and our RSE workers can now arrive at Auckland International Airport and be transported directly to their place of employment. They must live and work in their own bubbles and function as if they are in Level 4 restrictions and undertake COVID tests on day 0 and day 5 of arriving. The RSE program is a fantastic opportunity not only to support our industry, but to assist our Pacific neighbours who are experiencing significant economic hardship due to the lack of tourism in their own countries arising from COVID restrictions.

All working holiday visas and the Supplementary Seasonal Employer (SSE) expiring prior to 31 December 2021 have now been extended for a further six months. The conditions of both visas allow holders to work in any employment, in any sector. With a total pool of ~8,500 visa holders currently in New Zealand, I encourage our growers, especially those who historically employ backpackers, to do what you can to recruit and retain them for the upcoming harvest.

I recently met with MSD who are doing all they can to help our industry find the staff we need for the upcoming thinning and harvest season. I also met with George Rarere from NZAPI to hear some of the new initiatives around employment and retention. We intend to hold a meeting towards the end of the month where both organisations will share with our members various labour initiatives, how they work and what opportunities are available for us, as growers to access. Many of our growers have not worked with MSD before so I see this as very timely with things about to get very busy. We will notify you shortly of a meeting time and date.

Growers are also encouraged to post their vacancies for seasonal work on the newly-developed PickNZ job board. This site now hosts seasonal roles that were formerly posted on the Opportunities Grows here and Work the Seasons website.

I believe collaboration between growers working together and with their supply groups is what will help us get through the next six months. As growers let’s pull together – be robust in recruiting our staff – let’s think outside the box – we can do this – let’s keep talking to one another and being willing to share staff around- this will be key for us winning the labour battle.

We have our annual fishing competition coming up on 1 November –everyone’s welcome, it’s a great day out, always well attended and we have an incredible line-up of prizes- thanks to our sponsors and the fishing committee for their support again this year. It’s been a challenging year and this is a good opportunity to relax and catch up with fellow growers. See you there.

Brydon Nisbet
HBFA President

Leon Stallard has been awarded Life Membership at the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association AGM held on Thursday night at the Toitoi Arts and Events Center.

This award recognises the outstanding commitment and dedication to the local horticulture industry. Since the inception of the Association in 1899 Life Membership has only been awarded 26 times.

Leon has dedicated an enormous number of hours to the industry over the past 23 years.

President of the Association from 2005-2014, Leon has been Chair and later a trustee of the HBFA Charitable Trust since 2005 and continues to serve on the board of Trustees today. He established the Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year competition in 2005 which was the catalyst for the launch of the highly successful National competition that is now governed by Horticulture New Zealand. He served as a director on the board of Horticulture New Zealand from 2014 – 2020.

In addition, our recipient was presented with the Hawke’s Bay Horticulturalist of the Year Award in 2019, the Hastings District Council Civic Honour Award for Voluntary Community Service in the field of Education and Youth Development within the Horticultural Sector – 2019 and was a Medallist in the NZ Local Hero of the Year Award 2020.

He freely gives his time to many organisations and importantly to many young leaders seeking advice and support.

The HBFA AGM was held last week and I am excited to step into the role of President. HBFA is in an extremely heathy place – we have a full team of Executive members on board, membership is growing and our influence in the sector is expanding.

For those who don’t know me, I first entered the horticulture industry in the mid-1980’s. I have been involved in the Hawke’s Bay fruit industry, working for both stonefruit and pipfruit growers. I joined the Association five years ago and have been Vice President for the last 12 months. I was recently elected onto the Board of Horticulture New Zealand- the only pipfruit/stonefruit grower representative.

Seven years ago, I started my own orcharding business growing apples, Global Harvest. I know the joys and challenges of growing, but I’m an optimist who always believe our best years are ahead and as we all face obvious future challenges – collaboration will be key for all of us to come into a better and stronger place. I also want to encourage all growers, large and small to keep an eye out for each other, check in with fellow growers. Be willing if you can, to help and support other growers, especially in labour requirements. Look after your staff, value them, pay them accordingly. Our people are our greatest assets.

I want to acknowledge Richard Pentreath for the work, time, and commitment he has given over the last 12 months as he has led the Association through a challenging time of transition. Fortunately for the Association (and for me!) Richard has chosen to stay on as an Executive member. I also want to thank Jo Pentreath and all the executives for their contribution over the past year.

The coming year is an exciting phase for the Association. The past year we have seen significant change and improvements in the way we operate and at the recent AGM we welcomed the new Executive members into their respective roles:

Vice President: Graeme Hodges

Executive Team:
Richard Pentreath
Lisa Edgarton
Chris Treneman
Andrew Mason
Tom Dames
Cindy Dixon
Shane Flynn
Tom Keefe
Wendy Dowling

I want to extend a warm welcome to Wendy Dowling and Tom Keefe, our two new executive members and I look forward to working alongside Graeme Hodges our new Vice President going forward. Thank you Richard Griffiths for your input and contribution over the past three years.

We showcased two outstanding events in 2020/21 – our Young Fruit Grower of the Year and Industry Awards evening, celebrating our young people graduate through our local trainee programmes. We also acknowledged leaders in our industry in the presentation of our Joe Bell trophy awarded to Richard Hill from Mr Apple and the Fourneau Trophy for innovation in horticulture which was awarded to Green Atlas Cartographer. Feedback on these events from industry, growers and sponsors has been fantastic. We have a great future, and these events help advertise horticulture as an exciting industry to be involved in.

I intend to continue down our path of collaboration with other industry bodies such as NZAPI, Summerfruit NZ and Horticulture New Zealand to name a few. I’m big on relationships, so will be focused on building key relationships with industry leaders, HDC, HBRC, the mayors of our regions and our local MP’s. I believe having key genuine connections will be paramount for the future of our industry as we work through the many issues that affect fruit growing in Hawke’s Bay.

I look forward to our on-going commitment to our growers to make fruit growing in Hawke’s Bay successful and prosperous for all.

Brydon Nisbet
HBFA President

Alan Pollard, Chief Executive, New Zealand Apples & Pears

The government’s confirmation that quarantine free flights from Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga will commence from October was welcome news. This confirmed a previous announcement by the Prime Minister some weeks earlier.

To enable the arrangement to be agreed, the governments had to reach an agreement on those countries allowing their workers to return at the end of their tenure in New Zealand, and what quarantine arrangements may be required on their return home.

A large amount of work is being done between industry and government agencies to agree the requirements for quarantine free travel to commence. That includes pre-departure processes, the status of the flights to be used (charter, cargo, commercial), arrival processes, vaccination, testing, isolation, etc. Concurrently, a team is working on the basis of allocation of workers amongst employers. This is a complex task that needs to recognise approved employer and regional ATR allocations, workers remaining in New Zealand and planning to stay here, and workers who will be repatriated over the next few months. We appreciate that employers need to know where they stand re RSE numbers as soon as possible, and the team is working as fast as they can to be in a position to advise employers. However, we are condensing a process that would normally take months into a few weeks.

The first flights under the quarantine free travel arrangements will most likely be the three flights (previously via MIQ) which were deferred from September.

If we have a full crop this year (i.e. no major weather events) we could have an additional 100,000 to 115,000 tonnes of fruit to harvest requiring an additional 2,500 workers. So the RSE decision is not the panacea to industry labour challenges. There are only about 5,000 working holiday visa holders in the country (down from a usual 50,000 or so), with little prospect of any easing of border restrictions to allow more to come in.

I understand that there are a bit over 100,000 job seekers in New Zealand at a time when all sectors are crying out for labour – the industry has to position itself as a more attractive option than other industries. We are already gearing up for a programme of campaigns to attract people to and retain people in the industry.

So quarantine free travel offers some relief but labour challenges will remain. The NZAPI team continues to work with government to ensure that our industry can access our fair share (or more) of available labour.

Jens Liesebach, KGI Lower North Island Representative

Spring is just around the corner. Buds have broken in Gold orchards and the early Green orchards are not too far behind. With budbreak, comes crop protection. All young green tissue should be protected from the kiwifruit vine disease PSA. Failure to do so can result in flower bud abortion, red oozing or worst case dieback of the vine. Birds also seem to be particularly interested in green shoots and small flower buds this year.

Future access to the Chinese market will require thorough control of scale this season. There are various options for how to manage scale numbers during the season. A couple of solutions are to remove host plants surrounding your kiwifruit blocks e.g. willows and poplars and to apply chemicals. Please talk to your packhouse representative or chemical merchant for scale control options for your orchard.

At the last Zespri townhall meeting, Zespri highlighted the challenges of transporting the fruit to the market due to limited shipping capacity. The same applies to the importers bringing goods in to New Zealand. This season, some kiwifruit growers have missed out on the critical supply of Advanced Gold ( budbreaker product) due to the inability to source one ingredient from overseas for this New Zealand made product. I am not aware of any supply and demand issues for products yet, but please stay in contact with your merchant to avoid any surprises!

COVID is back in the community. I know that many orchards kept working during lockdown levels 3 and 4. To be able to keep working was a privilege and not a right. NZKGI was in constant contact with the relevant institutions to provide guidance and assistance about new alert level requirements. On my orchard we established procedures to follow the new rules and all team members got vaccinated within a short time. These actions will hopefully keep COVID risk levels low. Our industry already has a much smaller pool of workers available this season. What is your Covid strategy on the orchard?

Richard Mills, Summerfruit NZ Market Support

Are there lessons from COVID that can be taken onto the orchard. Possibly there are lessons that can be taken from orchard hygiene and applied to our COVID lives!

Every morning I look out the window at my home orchard and walk through it on the way to my office, so know what growth stage is occurring. Most mornings I check the weather forecast and yet I still didn’t get a protective cover spray on before this 6 mm of overnight rain. I hoping now that it was too cold and not wet enough for long enough.

I pruned the trees late, sort of on purpose and therefore only knocked the mummies onto the ground recently. They have been mown a couple of times but have not yet fully broken down. For someone who has commented on orchard hygiene several times I should know better. We had PFR do this research work a few years ago, the findings were presented at the Conference and have been referenced often enough.

This week I am attending a field walk and presentation in Gisborne, organized by A Lighter Touch, where the subject is agroecology, what plants can we grow that provide food and shelter to encourage bugs to eat other bugs such as aphids and thrips? An option is to put flowering plants under the trees in the herbicide strip. One of the questions that keeps coming to the front of my thinking is how to sweep out all the fruit that is under the tree to the inter-row area so that in can be mulched when this is no longer a smooth solid surface. This is normal practice for some in stonefruit now, has been in apples and is certainly so in kiwifruit, and I’m thinking avocadoes as well. Is this a bit like a COVID vaccination, the disease will be still be out there but I’m less likely to get seriously ill? Maybe its more like the facemask idea of preventing the spread, or perhaps a bit of both.

Then I start thinking about the hygiene implications of that seedling tree on the roadside which a chainsaw could probably deal with, as well as the under-managed home orchard. Even worse the abandoned trees just down the road which might benefit from a chainsaw should the owner’s consent – a bit of firewood might be a sweetener.

The EPA has recently called for submissions on the use of glyphosate (Roundup) in NZ and whilst I don’t expect that we will lose the use of this herbicide, it comes back to thinking about understory plantings as an alternative, or using hay or wool as an alternative and then what the unintended consequences might be. I’ll ask the question of the experts whilst in Gisborne this week.

I’m still confused as to how we might move forward with abandoned trees, orchard hygiene, less herbicide use, understory planting and still make some money from growing fruit, but let’s see if that confusion is heightened or lessened by a field trip and a chat with the experts.

Have a look at this 3-page bulletin from Australian Almonds and in particular the idea of blowing around fruit and leaves. Carpophilus beetles also feature. Isn’t an almond the edible inside part of a peach rather than the outside? Not quite but close enough for these ideas to be worth looking at.

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