HortNZ levy vote looming
Commercial fruit and vegetable growers are being urged to their say in the upcoming levy referendum to enable Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) to continue its work for the sector.
The role of the banks is a critical component in the overall recovery plan for Hawke's Bay, according to the HortNZ chair Barry O'Neil.
His comments come as frustration builds in the province with orchardists and commercial growers at their wits end, not knowing if and how they can get their business up and running.
O'Neil believes some pragmatic leadership is needed by the Government to get the ball rolling.
He admits it's hard for the banks because some of the land in question is likely to be mortgaged but is now worthless.
That would make it hard for the bank to take on more debt on a property.
O'Neil says this, coupled with inflation and high interest rates, adds to the complexity of the issue.
He says the reality is that it will take at least six years - probably longer - to re-establish an orchard. O'Neil believes to do this will require some form of government intervention.
"The Government has traditionally done that with the Provincial Growth Fund where is looked at a sector and industry and invested in interest free loans to support industry to expand and develop new approaches," he told Hort News.
"A discussion along these lines with the Government will enable banks to maybe come in and offer support," O'Neil adds. "But on their own, that would be very difficult."
The problems in Hawke's Bay came to a head recently when an open letter was sent to the Government by most of the produce groups - such as NZKGI, apples and pears, summerfruit, citrus, asparagus, strawberry, processed vegetables, onions, persimmon, feijoa and HortNZ. The letter said, while the Government responded swiftly to the immediate crisis, there was now an urgent need for recovery funding, re-establishment and rebuild. The sector has called on the Government to make decisions on this as soon as possible and also to accelerate the infrastructure repair.
O'Neil says the problems in Hawke's Bay dealing with silt are mind boggling. "There are concerns [that] some of the silt is contaminated," he told Hort News.
"It needs to be moved quickly but growers are telling me they can't get approval from the authorities to do this, which is frustrating their ability to move on."
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.