News
Biosecurity New Zealand and PNZ are working together on what the PMTV management programme will look like.
PNZ will be consulting with growers, the wider industry and other interested parties. To assist with some of this work we have welcomed a new team member, tasked with doing surveillance on PMTV. Paula is based in Canterbury, but will be travelling for work.
FIELD WALKS 2019 has been an opportunity to spotlight PNZ research and development projects, around the country. Thanks to Plant and Food, Dan Bloomer, Landwise, Lachlan Turley at Teralytic, Leicesters and Cleanboots. Check out the programme notes here.
The Canterbury Young Grower Group is back in action in March. Register your interest with their co-ordinator Brendan.Their events are for anyone interested or involved in the Hort industry of any age. Visit their facebook page.
- The first event is a tour of a fertiliser manufacturing plant
- Forklift courses are on offer in May 2019 with the possibility of partial funding from Canterbury Horticulture Growers Society
REMINDER
Food Act and GAP certification deadline approaching.
MPI’s deadline to register for the Food Act is 28 February, 2019. If you’re not registered for the Food Act by this date, but are still trading, your business will be operating illegally.
To ensure that you will meet the Food Act deadline via NZGAP, you must register here before 1 February 2019.
If you are unsure about how the Food Act applies to your business, check out the MPI “Where do I fit?” tool.
Education, Resources, Forms
A variety of recently revised forms can be found on our website for membership, new grower registration, levies and seed grower certification. If you have any problems downloading these, feel free to email Gemma for assistance.
A reminder that we have a number of recently revised & useful resources on our portal, including the very popular TPP Poster (updated) and also a new resource BioSecurity Poster. We will include these in an Easter Mailout but if you can’t wait, order it for free. Be patient with the Portal link, as it loads very slowly, if you have any problems email Gemma directly with your order.
We have started to add Technical Bulletins (TBs) under our R&D heading on the website, these replace what used to be called the Potato Updates in the past. The latest bulletin is a very useful nutrient management paper from a book co-written by the VR&I Board, Plant & Food Research and the Fertiliser Association of NZ. Read the Potato Chapter TB No.3 here.
Other recent technical bulletins advise on Mesh Covers for TPP control TB No.1 and our PCN Fact Sheet TB No.2.
Events
Grower Meeting – Seed Potato Certification Scheme
Growers are invited to meet with members of the NZ Seed Potato Certification Authority at the Pukekohe Indian Community Centre, on 11th April at 4pm. This is one of two regular meetings and we will discuss the scheme and improvements that are being made. Topics for the meeting include:
- Scheme operation – rule changes
- Discussion on inspection activities for seed potato certification, and what is being done to improve the scheme
- PMTV update
Refreshments will be provided at the end of the meeting (5.30pm – 6.30pm). We hope to see you there. Please advise Gemma if you are coming.
PNZ Field Walks 2019 – one more to go …
27th February Manawatu at Chris Pescini’s farm.
Covering topics such as TPP, Tamarixia, Teralytic Probes, Regreening & Powdery Scab.
NZ AGRIFOOD 2019
Event page here.
Horticulture Industry Forum Dates:
10th April Wellington
2nd October Tauranga
5th December Wellington
Horticulture Conference Dates
31st July-2nd August Mystery Creek
Potatoes New Zealand Conference & AGM
13th -15th August Christchurch
Registrations will open late May & an early bird will be available until 28th June.
It’s a big year for The Chip Group and associated businesses, as we have two industry awards to present at the conference. Read more here and make sure our processing clients are qualified to enter for the awards.
Hort Connections Convention
24th – 26th June Melbourne
Open for registration and promising to be a great opportunity to connect with our friends over the ditch, share R & D, market trends, biosecurity challenges and more. Register now here.
Exporting news and statistics
We’re on a steady upward trend and the export value is up on this time last year. See details in the links below.
Fresh potato exports 2019 weeks 4-7
Fresh potato exports 2019 weeks 1-3
Fresh potato exports 2018 weeks 47-52
Processed potato export December 2018
Processed potato export November 2018
Processed potato export October 2018
Processed potato export September 2018
Processed potato export August 2018
Processed potato export July 2018
Research and Development
- Future Proofing Vegetable Production, a PNZ and Page Bloomer/Landwise Project, which researches, amongst other things, the effectiveness of fertiliser application methods.
- PEF technology was recently highlighted at Otago University’s FIET (Food Industry Enabling Technologies) forum in Dunedin. The forum was attended by all our processors and Dr Iain Kirkwood of PNZ. Read about the project here.
- PHD student Allan Saino from Massey will hopefully be speaking on his climate change research, at our conference this year. Read a little of his findings here. This piece is taken with permission from an article that appeared in Global Potato News.
- Plant and Food have been testing soil water management and the latest news on that project can be read here.
- TPP degree day graphs are being updated weekly, thanks to the team working at Plant and Food Research. You can follow the tracking on our website here. Tomato Potato Psyllid is one of the biggest pest challenges for potato and tomato growers.
Biosecurity
- PNZ & Biosecurity NZ are in the process of developing a management plan, which will involve industry consultation. Click to read the most recent PMTV Update here.
- PNZ have developed a Biosecurity Poster which will be distributed at Easter time, along with TPP and Tuber Diseases Posters. It is timely to look at making Biosecurity a daily practice in our industry. We also recommend you look at these websites for boot cleaning or boot cover supplies. www.cleanboots.co.nz who presented at our recent field walks. They’re a smart NZ start-up from a farming background. Boot covers that PNZ have used at recent farm visits are from Blackwoods.
- Powdery Scab challenges NZ and Australian Growers, with yields affected and in addition here in NZ, it is also the vector for PMTV. The latest Australian research project, provides some pointers for the industry. Read the AUSVEG article here which includes a link to the full project report.
In the media
- Latest HORT NZ newsletter here.
- Proudly NZ grown – the new sticker you can display on your produce.
- A neat story of a NZ grower, is an example of how potato growers approach sustainable water use. Read the story here.
- Our monthly Potato update in NZ Grower.
- Health promotion is the way forward for Chip Group. An update from PNZ Engagement Officer, Gemma Carroll.
- Potato Chat with Niki Bezzant, reflecting on what millenials want.
- PEF technology was examined by Otago University’s food department and you can read the results here.
- Gemma Carroll takes a look at potato as a good starch in high performance sport. A great focal point for public perception of our industry’s produce. Read the article here.
Consumer feedback – A NEW SECTION FOR THIS NEWSLETTER
PNZ receive emails and phonecalls from the public and we see an avenue to share consumer feedback to industry, via our newsletter. Common themes are quality from supermarkets and this leaves me wondering if storage at supermarkets may be poor. Growers may want to consider if we follow up with supermarkets, to ensure the overall reputation of our produce is not being affected by retail outlets. Feel free to respond to any of these examples of consumer comments to Trzzn.Pneebyy@cbgngbrfam.pb.am
- “Why do the Agria I buy taste mouldy and dusty?” (North Shore, Auckland).
- 18th December – rotten potatoes bought at a Pak n Save.
International News
- NZ performing well, according to latest World Potato Market report. See the summary here.
- Unleashing a breeding revolution.
- Weather predicted to be the biggest challenge in the UK industry again.
- 2018 US research indicates fresh spuds are the favourite vegetable for Americans.
- Potato shortage in India means there’s plenty cheaper than chips.
- Great to see Michelin Star restaurants creating haute cuisine starring the potato.
- European Association for Potato Research has invited NZ to visit their website and consider attending events.
- Canada’s love of organic potatoes is a growing trend.
- Could the predicted shortage of European seed for processing varieties affect their export market?
PNZ Social Media Links
Over 7,000 people and organisations now follow us on social media to keep up with the latest New Zealand and international potato news. Send us your news and events so we can publish them via our social media channels.
- Instagram – Potatoes_NZ
- Facebook – Potatoes NZ
- Facebook – The Chip Group
- Twitter – Potatoes NZ
- Twitter – Chris Claridge