| 117 Ngai Tukairangi Trust: Ahuwhenua Trophy Award Cape Produce represents New Zealand’s leading growers, exporting exceptional quality fruit to Asia, Australia and around the world. FUYU PERSIMMONS Fresh New Zealand Persimmons available for air and sea shipment. Exported under our high quality Holyoak • and Bee Sweet brands. New Zealand’s most experienced • Persimmon marketer. Industry leading returns. • Servicing high value retail and online • markets throughout Asia and offers the widest retail scope in Australia. Grow with us! FOR MORE INFORMATION Andrew Douglas Director andrew@capeproduce.co.nz 021 381 880 www.capeproduce.co.nz A Fresh Way of Thinking afloat through our recovery from the cyclone,” says Riri. Those resources stem from longstanding decisions such as transitioning to the higher worth variety of golden kiwifruit; and more recent ones such as growing persimmon. They’re now one of the biggest persimmon growers in the country accounting for around 33% of the harvested crop. “We’ve taken a big stake in it as a form of diversification. That’s important for us because it has a different growing time to kiwifruit,” says Riri. Experimenting with new varieties of apples such as the potentially valuable Rockit variety designed for easy eating by families on the go also helps spread the risk. Using solar power where possible in line with their underlying ethos of sustainability it’s also Ngai Tukairangi’s first foray into precision horticulture. Training the fruiting trees into more of a 2D shape with branches growing along fence-like structures lends itself to efficient picking with harvesting machinery able to work alongside the trees and go up and down to reach the fruit as required. “Orchards are like people, they have a character, so we’re developing that particular orchard to have a lot of character,” says Riri with a smile. The combination of her own knowledge born of her deep management knowledge practically, and academically, her long experience working with the Ngai Tukairangi Trust, and the expertise offered by her exceptional executive team, orchard managers, other board members and the network of growers and colleagues working in the horticulture industry, have helped the Trust and its operations survive 2023’s extreme weather events. The thought and planning going into their short, medium, and long term strategies to manage risk mean that the Trust and its operations are well placed not only to survive but to thrive in an increasingly demanding environment. PRODUCTION Liam Sykes ( Hawkes Bay Apple Manager)
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