RWNZ chief executive to step down
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) chief executive Gabrielle O’Brien will step down at the end of June.
Produce company Wattie’s says it completed its 24/7 pea and bean harvesting and processing season in Canterbury last Friday (April 17).
The company says the harvest was carried out under conditions not previously experienced in its 50-year history of operating at its Hornby factory, due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 protocols.
Wattie’s field and factory staff, based in Christchurch had to adapt quickly to the strict protocols developed in response to the Ministry of Primary Industry’s requirements.
Site manager for Wattie’s in Hornby, Graham Broom said everyone understood the reasons for the changes in our operations, but the new work practices added significantly to people’s workloads during an already busy time, particularly in the factory.
“During harvest we also had to adapt to new ways of communicating with farmers and working in the field to ensure social distancing and traceability of contact was adhered to,” Broom explained.
“We are immensely proud of the way in which our teams worked to finds ways of working to meet the requirements of MPI in order to mitigate the identified COVID risks, without dropping production.”
He added that the challenges extended beyond the fields and processing operations to the reduced availability and movement of containers for delivering processed and finished product to customers.
“Throughout all this, the level of collaboration among our teams and with business partners has been phenomenal. The way product has continued to move through the supply chain, from field to customers, is a credit to everyone involved.”
With the major pea, bean and baby carrot harvesting and processing activities behind it, the factory is moving back to a five-day week with the potato and carrot harvests still to go.
However, as one season runs its course, planting for the next is about to start – with Wattie’s planting broad bean seeds on April 26.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
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