YOUR INDUSTRY
Shanaye Fox amongst the kiwifruit at Orangewood
Young graduate focuses on big picture
YOUNG GROWERS
Studying Agriculture Commerce at Massey University has given Shanaye Fox a lot more than her degree. By Wendy Laurenson It has expanded her horizons, offered her the opportunity to take part in the International Horticulture Immersion Programme, and fuelled her passion for a career in the kiwifruit industry. “I now see how broad and varied the work possibilities are in horticulture – from production to post-harvest, marketing, science, business and research.” When Shanaye finished her degree majoring in AgriBusiness near the end of last year, she saw an ad for a summer intern at Orangewood Ltd, a post-harvest and orchard management company in Kerikeri. “I 44
The ORCHARDIST : FEBRUARY 2021
had grown up in Levin then studied in Palmerston North and was ready to learn something new in a new region, so I applied, got accepted and have been working here since then. I’ve now been offered a permanent job here as a packhouse and orchard rotated intern, which means I get to work in all aspects of the business. This is a perfect fit for my degree and it’s really exciting to be starting my career journey.” It is the kiwifruit supply chain that particularly interests Shanaye. “Kiwifruit is New Zealand’s biggest horticulture export with a massive
network of markets and huge growth potential as we secure trade access to Asian markets and as the red variety comes on stream. In our second year at Massey, a small group of mostly horticulture students were lucky enough to be selected for the International Horticulture Immersion Programme where we travelled to the Netherlands, Belgium and South Korea. It was that trip that opened my eyes to the scope of horticulture and New Zealand’s global role in it. The experiences included visiting the World Horti Centre (in the Netherlands), discovering vertical gardening, visiting ports and offices
