YOUR INDUSTRY
PEANUT POTENTIAL IN NORTHLAND Words by Wendy Laurenson. Photos by Plant & Food Research Ltd
Allister McCahon Farmer, Declan Graham Plant & Food Research, Paul Sorensen Farmlands Keri Keri, Josh van der Weyden Plant & Food Research, Matt Punter Kaipara Kai (now Tech Manager Farmlands Keri Keri)
A peanut trial carried out this summer near Dargaville was small but the results could be significant. The project was initiated by Pic’s Peanut Butter, backed by the Ministry for Primary Industries through their Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund, with research input from Plant & Food Research. Early results show peanuts may have potential as a new crop for the Northland region Declan Graham, business manager – science at Plant & Food Research, managed the project which set up trial plots in three locations around Kaipara. “We chose Northland because peanuts need soil temperatures above 18 degrees Celsius from planting in October through to harvest in April. They also need friable fertile soil, so we had one trial on a kumara farm in Ruawai, one further north near Kai Iwi Lakes, and one near Te Kopuru, but only the Te Kopuru trial came to fruition. Seeds we planted on mounds in Ruawai were washed out by heavy rain and what remained was overtaken by alligator weed. The Kai Iwi Lakes plot had more friable sandy soils but an electric fence there failed so cattle got in and destroyed the crop.
40 NZGROWER : JUNE 2021
However, we harvested the crop from the Te Kopuru site, and the yield, health and size of the peanuts look really good.” Several locals have been keenly involved in the trial project. “We’re working with local farmers plus staff from Farmlands and Kaipara Kai to see if peanuts could become another cropping option for Northland farmers and growers,” Declan says. “They’re an arable crop so development would need land flat enough for machine access, and sufficient infrastructure to support a processing-based business. Infrastructure is already in place here for the kumara and maize industries, and further north for vegetable growing.”
We chose Northland because peanuts need soil temperatures above 18 degrees Celsius from planting in October through to harvest in April The possibility of growing peanuts commercially in Northland was explored in the 1970s, but Declan says there is much higher motivation now for investment. “A big
