By Niki Bezzant I like to listen to RNZ’s Country Life programme on Saturday morning. It is a well-put-together slice of rural life, and a great way to learn about the fascinating people growing food in our beautiful country. The other morning I heard that farmers are feeling ‘under attack’. I take this to mean…
By Gemma Carroll As we wound our way down to Port Levy, although only an hour from Christchurch city, it felt a world away. The turquoise waters of the harbour as still as glass, under the mid-afternoon Winter sun. We are greeted at the entrance to the whare tipuna, by Manaia Cunningham, a decendant of…
Now is the time for inclusion and diversity across all industry and horticulture can lead the way. This is an abstract written by Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Te Arawa, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Melanie is CEO of Te Tira Whakamātaki, the Māori Biosecurity Network and spoke on these key…
By Gemma Carroll The story goes that in 1853, at a Saratoga Springs diner, in New York, a wealthy and somewhat unpleasant customer sent his fried potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining that they were too soggy, and didn’t have enough salt. George Crum, the cook, in a fit of customer rage, sliced more potatoes…
By Gemma Carroll In recent media there has been a lot of noise about superfoods. A superfood is defined as being rich in compounds beneficial to a person’s health. It’s a nutrient dense food. It’s definitely time for our ‘humble’ spud to take it’s place in the spotlight. There has been too much chatter in…
Potatoes New Zealand’s Research & Development programme are excited to launch their latest project. The Potato Nutrient Emissions Project (PNZ-79) is a multi-workstream national project aimed at analyzing nitrate uptake and nutrient leaching, Teralytic probe data efficacy and Overseer prediction validation for potato crops in multiple regions throughout New Zealand. The overall aims are: The…
From time to time I like to spend a pleasant hour or two browsing through my collection of old food books. They range from the really historical – nutrition texts from the 1930s – through to total Kiwi classics – Alison Holst’s first book, for example, or the Hudson & Halls Cookbook from 1977. These…
Thirteen young New Zealand horticulture leaders visited world-leading innovative growers, researchers, and business in the Netherlands to expand their horizons and bring back valuable insights to New Zealand. This is part of arguably the most collaborative industry-driven program ever seen in the primary industries. The inaugural international horticultural immersion program (IHIP) Is supported by AGMARDT…
From the first day I stepped off the plane and visited the breathtaking Agriport A7 growing centre, cooperation and collaboration between businesses was startling. These state-of-the-art greenhouses spanned a staggering 30 hectares. It became clear the owners alone could not have achieved this in isolation. With its self-driving carts doing the hard yards and the…
Fast facts Name: Charlotte BowanAge: 37Location: South CanterburyWork: General Manager at Heartland Potato ChipsGrows: I don’t actually grow the potatoes these are grown by my father and brother. I manage the family owned business where we use the potatoes we grow and turn these into – Heartland Chips. How did you first become involved in…