YOUR INDUSTRY
MANAGING LABOUR DEMANDS KEY TO BOOSTING ASPARAGUS INDUSTRY Kristine Walsh
Asparagus Hawke’s Bay produces some 70 tonnes of mostly green and some purple asparagus at its Trotter Farm at Twyford, just out of Hastings
It was two tales of one season for asparagus growers as bigger operators were hit by export barriers and constricted markets, while more localised ones met or even exceeded previous targets. Overseeing a crop of nearly 80 hectares at Mangaweka Asparagus near Taihape, New Zealand Asparagus Council chairman, Sam Rainey, has seen a tough few months. Despite “pretty favourable” growing conditions, he says an imperfect storm of limited labour, constricted demand and a near-halt to export led to the worst returns he has seen in his seven years in the business. “Auckland being in lockdown had a real impact in the food service industry and with air freight prices being through the roof, everything had to be consumed by the local market and returns plummeted,” Sam says. “Probably the biggest thing though, is the continued rise in labour costs in what is a very labour-heavy industry. But that's been building for a while. For a number of years now our returns have not changed while costs have been going up and that is not sustainable.”
38 NZGROWER : FEBRUARY 2022
To cope with oversupply during the 2021 season, a number of growers mowed some of their crop – putting it out of action for around a week until new spears were produced – while others let the crowns fern out which, while knocking them out for the current season, can lead to better results for the next. Sam Rainey managed to pick around 90 percent of his crop but says even that reduction, together with skinny margins, made for a rugged season. However, he believes there is hope for larger growers in the $5 million robotics project. Sam sees it as an exciting development for an industry that relies on manual picking of each spear to harvest a crop. The Ministry for Primary Industries, Bay of Plenty company Robotics Plus and the Asparagus Council, are working on a four-year programme to develop a mechanical harvester. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O’Connor, saving on labour would reduce costs and boost production, allowing growers to compete in the export market and to reduce their dependence on domestic buyers. “Together with rebuilding the export market and further developing our base of domestic customers, we hope there is some light at the end of the tunnel,” Sam says.
