YOUR INDUSTRY
GROWERS AIM FOR GREATER EFFICIENCY THROUGH INNOVATION Words by Andrew Bristol
Rob Lindsay amongst his crop
Canterbury vegetable growers visited late last year all had one major driver in common – they are striving for greater efficiency through innovation. Rob Lindsay has been managing Island Horticulture just north of Christchurch for the past two years. The business employs 15 people full-time and the greenhouses in which the cucumbers grow cover 20,000 square metres. “Covered crop growing is already very efficient use of land and resources but I’m keen to explore alternative energy sources,” says Rob. “Growing covered crops requires a heat input. The technology we currently have requires the combustion of a fuel but due to increasing costs, and signals from the government that burning fossil fuels is not a future option, we are closely watching some current industry projects. “For example, could large-scale heat pumps be viable for greenhouse growing? Should we be investing in a largescale solar array, and using this energy to heat our crop? As the technology is already out there, how can we transfer it to greenhouse growing in New Zealand?” 20
NZGROWER : FEBRUARY 2021
Rob says he feels the horticulture industry needs to find ways to become as energy efficient and sustainable as possible. “Look at the wine industry, which tends to look at energy as a system, with many larger wineries using scavenged heat from their chillers for other uses. We are now starting to look at our heating and chilling requirements, and attempting to realise efficiencies. “I see the phasing out of fossil fuels as both a challenge and an opportunity: a challenge in that we need to find a cost-effective solution but also an opportunity to futureproof New Zealand’s covered cropping sector.” Rob says change to an alternative heat source will involve a large cost. “So as an industry, we need to work out how we’re going to finance these changes, so we can continue to supply fresh healthy vegetables to future generations of New Zealanders.” All Island Horticulture cucumbers are sold in the South Island. “It would be crazy to generate extra cost by sending them to the North Island,” says Rob. “Besides, the less distance they have to travel, the better the condition they are in for the customer.”
