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Past and present: from left former HortNZ chairs Barry O’Neil, Andrew Fenton, current chair Bernadine Guilleux and another former chair Julian Raine cutting the celebratory cake.
More than 150 people turned up at Parliament recently to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ).
HortNZ was formed in December 2005 through the merger of three long-standing grower bodies: the NZ Fruitgrowers Federation, the NZ Vegetable and Potato Growers and the Berryfruit Federation.
Guests included past presidents and staff of the organisation down through the years including Andrew Fenton who was the first chair of the new body.
He spoke about the challenges and hard work that was put into getting the various groups to come together and says it was a case of putting personal interests aside and focusing on the goal of the power of having one voice for the sector.
The function was hosted by the Minister of Horticulture, Nicola Grigg, who says horticulture is an exciting sector to be involved in as it continues to increase its contribution to the NZ economy.
“The growth trajectory coming out of horticulture is incredible and some new numbers coming out soon will reinforce that,” she says.
HortNZ chair Bernadine Guilleux said the goal at the time of the merger was to unite growers and ensure they had a strong, effective voice.
“Twenty years on, the value of critical mass and co-ordinated, cross-sector effort is clear. Horticulture has grown from 8% of primary sector exports in 2005 to 14% today,” she says.
Guilleux says major milestones over the past two decades include the creation of the RSE scheme, the development NZ GAP, and industry-wide responses to shocks such as Covid-19 and the Psa outbreak in kiwifruit.
She says the total area under horticultural production has increased and has been shaped by innovation and technology.
A huge reduction in ACC claims from on-farm accidents over the last five years is due to thousands of small, practical decisions being made in sheds, yards, paddocks and around kitchen tables across the country, says Safer Farms ambassador Lindy Nelson.
Horticulture New Zealand’s Board has welcomed the re-election of grower-elected directors Alistair Petrie and Doug Brown.
A central Canterbury business which turns malting barley into a key ingredient in beer making has celebrated its 100% New Zealand-grown status with a special event.
Horticulture NZ says the funding boost to improve state highway resilience will support growers and strengthen the transport links they rely on to get produce to market.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) has released its 2026 election manifesto, outlining priorities to support the sector’s growth, resilience, and contribution to New Zealand’s food security and export revenue.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.
