Being made redundant may feel like the end of the road for many, but for Tutira resident Mark Kearney it was a new beginning.
In 1998 Mark took redundancy from Pan Pac and planted his land out in 300 walnut trees.
"There were already 35 of the old English variety on the property when we bought the land in 1997," he says.
He didn't rate that strain and decided to go upmarket, planting the Meyric variety which he says have proven to be the tastiest in New Zealand and have a very thin shell.
"You can open them with your finger."
Mark says harvest time is at the end of March, lasting around three weeks for the bulk of the crop and the late ones taking another two weeks. Walnuts may look simple enough, but there's a fair bit of work involved.