Bay of Plenty avocado growers are expecting the highest payouts in 20 years after achieving record peak retail prices of up to $AU5 per piece in Australia this summer. Final returns reporting will not be completed until later this year but industry spokespeople agree overall prices were significantly stronger than in previous years. The $AU5 per piece price was achieved in premium stores in premium locations during January and the average per piece price will be lower. New Zealand Avocado More...

Kiwifruit orchard manager Matthew Greenbank was named Bay of Plenty Young Fruitgrower of the Year at an awards dinner at Baypark Conference Centre on Wednesday evening. The 25 year old, who works for DMS Progrowers, manages approximately 45 hectares of kiwifruit orchards in the Te Puna and Tauranga areas. Bay of Plenty Young Fruitgrower of the Year Matthew Greenbank. Matthew fought off close competition to take the title, according to New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. CEO Mike Chapman. More...

Six of the region’s best young fruit growers vie for the title of Bay of Plenty Young Fruitgrower of the Year at Baypark Conference Centre on Wednesday night. Kiwifruit orchard managers Matthew Greenbank, Keiran Harvey, Clint Wall, Andrew Hill, Daniel Green and Miguel Perterle – who also works in the pipfruit industry – spent today competing in a series of challenges at Baypark before presenting a final round speech at the awards ceremony this evening. Four of the six Bay More...

The Katikati Fruitgrowers Association is concerned about a lack of biosecurity protection at Rotorua Airport as there is no full time sniffer dog there. Association president Hugh Moore says fruit growers are happy to stump up with the money to pay for the dog as this is what they feel is needed to protect their industry from unwanted pests brought into the country in undeclared food. Hugh says to not have this protection is dangerous for the Bay of Plenty as it is a major fruit growing More...

Winners of the supreme award in the Ballance Farm Environment awards announced in Te Puke on Tuesday are Bruce and Tessa Calder and their farm manager Tama Murray. The Calders and Tama farm a 480 hectare sheep and beef property at Pikowai near Matata. Bruce and Tessa Calder and Tama Murray. The Calders and Tama were presented their award in a prizegiving held at The Orchard in MacLoughlin Drive Te Puke on Tuesday. Guest speaker was Director of Agriculture (Massey), Professor Jaqueline More...

One of the country’s top agricultural scientists and Federated Farmers’ Agricultural Personality of the Year 2009 Dr Jaqueline Rowarth is guest speaker at Tuesday morning’s Ballance Farm Environment Awards ceremony. “If you could bottle intellect, passion, dedication and charm, Massey University's Professor Rowarth has it all and much more beside,” says Federated Farmers president Don Nicholson. Dr Jaqueline Rowarth. “As Director of Agriculture More...

Western Bay dairy farmers are the poorest performers in the Bay of Plenty region when it comes to dairy effluent compliance. Routine farm dairy effluent compliance monitoring in the eastern and western Bay of Plenty shows a continued poor performance for dairy farms west of the Kaituna River to Waihi Beach – including those draining into the Tauranga Harbour. “At 83 per cent compliance, dairy farms in this area were the only catchment we monitored to perform below the 90 per More...

The median price for a farm in the Bay of Plenty rose by about $177,000 in the last three months, according to latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. The median price for a farm in the Bay of Plenty was $1,175,000 in the three month period ending January 2010. During the same period 2009, the median price for a farm was $1,525,000 and during the three months to the end of December 2009 the median farm price was $997,500. There were also 23 Bay of Plenty farms that More...

Te Puke Showgrounds was abuzz with town and country folk on Saturday as the annual Te Puke A&P Show took place. A huge crowd turned out to the agricultural and pastoral show, with the new attraction of Encounter FX freestyle motocross stunt riders adding a new drawcard to the annual event. A race begins. Photos by Bruce Barnard. Show secretary/treasurer Kim Cawte had many great comments from show attendees. “Lots of people were saying it’s the most fantastic show More...

Bay of Plenty kiwifruit post harvest service provider, EastPack, intends to invest another $8.5 million on sophisticated new plant and automated equipment in 2010 to support higher volumes, continue to lift the quality of out-turns and deliver greater efficiencies. Company chairman Ray Sharp says that EastPack has a healthy balance sheet and very strong cash flows, enabling the latest capital improvements, including commissioning a six-lane sizer with soft bin tipping and automated packing More...