Horticulture NZ Celebrates Record Year for Kiwifruit and Apples
Reflecting on the past year, Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Kate Scott says there has been a lot to celebrate.
New Zealand grows probably less than half a percent of the global food supply so everything we grow is artisan, says KPMG's global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot.
He had listed artisan as one of the global food trends in an address to the Horticulture NZ conference in Nelson.
"If we get our minds around the fact that we have artisan industry, even the Zespri kiwifruit industry on a global scale is an artisan industry; we can create value by telling our stories, by linking our stories to the consumer and adding something to their lifestyle."
Asked about how technology such as robotics can fit with an 'artisan story', Proudfoot said he thought the back story of our products was about the people who produce our products, how they apply innovation, how they apply science, how they ensure they have a complete holistic approach to the their farming systems, how they look after their staff, land and water.
"If robotics is part of the solution of enabling us to bring that together then I see it as being completely consistent with an artisan story," he said.
Fonterra’s impending exit from the Australian dairy industry is a major event but the story doesn’t change too much for farmers.
Expect greater collaboration between Massey University’s school of Agriculture and Environment and Ireland’s leading agriculture university, the University College of Dublin (UCD), in the future.
A partnership between Torere Macadamias Ltd and the Riddet Institute aims to unlock value from macadamia nuts while growing the next generation of Māori agribusiness researchers.
A new partnership between Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) and NZAgbiz aims to make evidence-based calf rearing practices accessible to all farm teams.
Despite some trying circumstances recently, the cherry season looks set to emerge on top of things.
Changed logos on shirts otherwise it will be business as usual when Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses are expected to change hands next month.

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