Welcome to the end of the year, albeit the busiest time of year for those on the farm. 2019 has flown by, packed with challenges and some great results along the way, including: Field Walks 2019 in Pukekohe, Manawatu and Canterbury packed with R&D updates and biosecurity advice International experts visited in Autumn and spoke…
By Food Writer Niki Bezzant With all the media attention on plant-based eating that’s out there right now, it can be easy to get excited by the newness, and miss what’s been in front of us all along. Food writers like me are as guilty as anyone else of jumping on to new food trends,…
In an increasingly pressured climate for farmers, it is more important than ever to tell the good stories, hero our produce and hero the farmers who practice good farm management. Potatoes New Zealand have a multi-pronged communications approach to this, utilizing industry magazines, online social media campaigns, regular updates to website content and events which…
By Gemma Carroll 2019 has been a very busy year for Potatoes New Zealand and for horticulture. One of the initiatives we have been pleased to support is the newly formed Women in Horticulture (WiH) Committee. The Committee is currently comprised of; Bernadine Guilleux as Chair; Helen Barnes, Tomatoes NZ and Treasurer for WiH; Rebecca…
By Niki Bezzant With sustainability a big focus around food – and rightly so – these days, we’re looking much more closely at how our food is produced, and how we can be more sustainable in our shopping habits. But another thing that’s just as important when it comes to lowering our impact on the…
By Gemma Carroll New Zealand Potato Growers have been presented with the challenge of meeting new standards for nitrate management, to control emissions affecting water quality. This has come about as a result of the government’s consultation on the National Policy Statement for Freshwater. This will without a doubt be the first of many recommendations…
Name: Peter ReynoldsLocation: Pukekohe and TuakauGrows: potato, onion, pumpkin production, kiwifruit orcharding and cattle fattening. History: T.A. Reynolds Ltd is our family owned farming business. We have been living and farming in the Pukekohe and Tuakau Districts for several generations. We are not one big farm but are farming on many blocks, situated about one…
Don’t just eat it – Compleat it! How smashing, mashing and hashing your spuds can lead the way in helping New Zealanders reduce food waste and combat climate change. Consider the humble spud. Who doesn’t love them and their versatility? As Samwise declares in the Lord of the Rings: ‘Po-tay-toes! Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick…
By Glenys Christian Powdery scab is the biggest economic constraint for the Australian potato industry, Dr Calum Wilson, from the Tasmania Institute of Agriculture, told the Inta-Ag Conference in Pukekohe recently. It causes 10% to 20% yield losses and is estimated to have an economic cost of A$30 million a year. “And there are not…