Don't put fruit, vegetable production at risk!
Don’t put vital domestic fruit and vegetable production at risk. That’s the message from Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) to the Government.
Horticulture can expect to see more talent and capital in the industry with Maori, says Plant and Food chief executive officer Peter Landon-Lane.
There are many Maori businesses and people involved in horticulture, he told the Horticulture NZ conference in Nelson today.
As they were in the Te Tau Ihu region he acknowledged the Wakatu Corporation, owners of the Kono brand and wine, horticulture and seafood producers.
Across New Zealand, Maori now own 10% of the kiwifruit sector, he said. Many iwi and Maori organisations are looking at opportunities across a wide spectrum of horticultural crops and food products.
This new interest and investment from Maori promises big things for horticulture – great potential in land and capital but also new opportunities in branding, potentially new crops and a pool of young people who will help meet the need for talent.
A third of Maori are under the age of 15, so there's a talent pool, he said.
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.
OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.