Kiwifruit farmers Mark and Catriona White of Opotiki are the 2018 supreme winners of the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Award.
Kiwifruit farmers Mark and Catriona White of Opotiki are the 2018 supreme winners of the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Award.
Kiwifruit growers Mark and Catriona White and their Coastal Kiwis orchard won the 2018 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment supreme award.
The couple also picked up the BOP Regional Council Environmental award, Zespri Kiwifruit Orchard award and the WaterForce Integrated Management award.
Katikati growers also featured at Friday's award ceremony at ASB Baypark Arena — Barbara and Wilson McGillivray from Awatea Orchard turned a rubbish tip into a highly productive avocado orchard. The couple won the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award and the Predator Free Farm Award.
Katikati's Wilson and Barbara McGillivray from Awatea Orchard won the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management award presented by judge Claire Bekhuis.
The first beekeeping business to enter the BOP awards, Buzz Apiaries Limited of Katikati, won the Massey University Innovation Award and the Pukekauri Farms People in Agriculture Award.
This award focused on the all-important people side of the farming business and recognised the importance of staff relations and training, human resources, health and safety and other business practices associated with effective people and staff management. The award was presented by sponsors, 2014 supreme BOP Ballance Farm Environment award winners Rick Burke and Jan Loney from Pukekauri Farms.
Ten years ago, Mark and Catriona White embarked on a quest to find an improved lifestyle for their family away from the city and found it on a bare block of land near Opotiki.
Jan Loney and Rick Burke from Pukekauri Farms in Katikati (left) presented their People in Agriculture award to the team from Buzz Apiaries Ltd, brothers Corban and River Hayes (centre), and Lochie Hart and Blair Cooney.
Their work and passion have transformed part of an organic dairy farm into the successful 5.85ha orchard it is today, the Awards judges said.
"The concept of kaitiaki — acting as a guardian, protector and conserver — is evident in all aspects of the Coastal Kiwis orchard business."
The judges said there was no compromise — being organic was not a barrier to excellent productivity for the orchard.
"Organics is a licence to do things differently. Every opportunity is taken to try and to learn new things through observation and open mindedness."
Catriona's parents had offered the couple the chance to buy part of their organic dairy farm near Opotiki to develop as a kiwifruit orchard.
Although they initially didn't know much about kiwifruit, the couple did most of the physical development work themselves, keeping costs down and learning by their mistakes. Mark also did a National Certificate in Horticulture.
The orchard had 3.19 ha of Zespri Organic Green kiwifruit, producing a total of 23,483 trays of kiwi-start fruit in 2017. Zespri Organic SunGold (G3) is currently grown on 2.65 ha producing 38,362 trays. This production was achieved in a "challenging growing year" which included various cyclones and a very wet and windy autumn. Recently developed blocks of SunGold are coming into production during the upcoming season.
Initially Hayward Green and Hort16A gold kiwifruit were grafted onto Bruno rootstock.
They decided to remove the gold vines when they saw the devastation caused by the vine disease Psa-V. Organic passionfruit provided income until the newly grafted G3 vines came into production.
A small flock of certified organic sheep carry out weed control duties around the edges of the orchard, helping reduce tractor work and its associated soil compaction, especially in winter.
Organic sprays are used as required to disrupt pest life-cycles.
However, there are other unpaid pest experts at work in the orchard. Weka and fantails prey on insects, bird seed plants are grown to encourage birds away from eating kiwifruit flower buds and slugs help to recycle organic material on the floor of the orchard.
Other winners included Te Puke's David Timms and Gold Nugget Orchard which won the Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award and the CB Norwood Distributors Ltd Agri-Business Management Award. Whakatane sheep and beef farmers David and Carol Hodge won the Treeline Native Nursery Farm Stewardship Award, the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Award and Bay of Plenty Regional Council Environmental Award.
An open field day will be held at Catriona and Mark White's organic kiwifruit orchard on Wednesday. April 11 from 9.30am to 1pm at 15 Walker Road, Opotiki.
