10 | T T to page 12 T T Richard Loader Scaling up with hop farm development Nelson Lake Hops will be the single biggest hop farm in New Zealand when its development phase is complete. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Nelson Lakes Hops Nestled in Tasman’s Tutaki Valley, with Murchison its closest town, Nelson Lake Hops will be the single biggest hop farm in New Zealand when its development phase is complete. The hop farm was once the home to dairy cows, and encompasses 370 hectares. Now in its third year of development, there are currently 125 hectares planted, all irrigated, with another 90 hectares in development with poles in the ground, that will be ready for planting this spring. When a hop farm was first considered as an investment, a larger farm presented economies of scale, says Graeme Wong, whose firm, Southern Capital Partners, put the investment proposal together, and manages the investment on behalf of the investors. “Many historical hop farms tend to be less than 120 hectares, which we considered to be the minimum size. Initially we looked at between 120ha and 200ha, but then found this block of land. “The dairy farmer had decided to get out of dairy and sell the land. A key consideration was whether the scale could be managed, but with the people we had, either as investors or operational support partners, we felt we had assembled the best access to a broad range of skills.” The location also brings with it environmental benefits and Graeme points out that over the last few years the development of hop gardens has crept further south from the traditional Motueka locations. “There has been quite a lot of development at Tapawera, with multiple farms and quite a lot of hectarage, and often larger gardens or around 100 hectares. “What hops need to thrive is a winter frost that sends the plant into hibernation over winter, so that come the spring it sparks to life vigorously. “There is a feeling that there are getting to be less frosts in the coastal regions of the northern Tasman district, where hops have traditionally been grown, while we get cracking good frosts over the winter in the Tutaki Valley. We also get a warm summer climate.” The 2024 season (March/April) was Nelson Lake Hops first significant commercial harvest, while the 2023 season was a smaller harvest and the year before that was the first planting. “The staged development approach was a question of what a manageable development size was in any given year. Eighty hectares “What hops need to thrive is a winter frost that sends the plant into hibernation over winter, so that come the spring it sparks to life vigorously.” is about 250,000 plants. In order to develop those plants you have to grow a cutting in a nursery and then plant it in the garden as a one year old. The size of that operation is quite big with a reasonable amount of handling. And to get 250,000 viable plants, you probably need more than that.” The staged approach also applies to the processing infrastructure, with a processing plant and kiln already built and operational, and a second plant underway. “It will be slightly bigger than the existing one, with foundations and concrete pouring underway. That will be ready for the 2026 harvest. For the 2025 harvest, we will be operating two shifts, around 18/19 hours a day through that one processing plant and that will cater for the planted harvest next year. While there will be 215 hectares, there will be various states of maturity, and it will not be in full production over that hectarage.” A Dauenhauer picking machine was imported from the Unites States, with the rest of the plant, building and kilns built in New Zealand. The same will be repeated for the second plant. “Much of our capital expenditure is in the garden itself,” says Graeme. “For example, we’re probably the largest consumer of poles in the region, and we’re still growing. We’re using local suppliers, who are contracting with the forestry owners in terms of lead time for supply.” Whether it’s your dream home or a second dwelling on your property, call the team at Versatile to discuss how we can tailor a home package for you. Proud to be working with Nelson Lakes Hops for their accommodation requirements.
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