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A Redpath shadehouse with 50% shadecloth netting fitted
Planning ahead key for supply of crop protection products in 2022 Orchardists and growers are being urged to order crop cover and protection products well ahead of time due to ongoing supply delays caused by Covid-19. By Glenys Christian Richard Clarkson, pipfruit manager at Birdhurst Orchards in Motueka, says many orchardists are experiencing delays in deliveries of orders, with some having goods held up at overseas ports, being shipped to other destinations or delayed in transit. It has been “quite challenging” this year and he is picking the present shipping issues will last for another 12 months. As most of the drape and hail net products orchardists use are made in Asia, all they can do is plan ahead and order more than required so they have surplus stock on hand. “I’d rather have the problem of it turning up earlier than expected and figuring out where to store it,” Richard says.
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The ORCHARDIST : DECEMBER 2021
While most orchardists have been heeding suppliers’ warnings about ordering early, this has proved stressful when deposits need to be paid upfront, causing cashflow problems for some and making businesses more reliant on a good production season. Glen Williams, the owner of Palmerston North-based Redpath Pacific, advises growers and orchardists to think not only about requirements for the upcoming season, but the one after that. His company builds around 40 commercial greenhouses a year in New Zealand and a similar number in Australia. This November he was involved in a budget meeting for projected 2023 building sales to ensure
