4 minute read
Young graduate focuses on big picture
Shanaye Fox amongst the kiwifruit at Orangewood
Studying Agriculture Commerce at Massey University has given Shanaye Fox a lot more than her degree.
YOUNG GROWERS
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 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
Shanaye Fox checking on this season's kiwifruit
where Zespri was unloading kiwifruit, and seeing supermarkets selling our kiwifruit in South Korea.”
Before that international trip, Shanaye had also been included in a uni study trip to Tauranga orchards, packhouses and Zespri offices, and she had done practical work at Massey monitoring kiwifruit and collecting data. But it was taking agriculture/horticulture level 1 at school that first fuelled Shanaye’s passion for the plant world. “It introduced me to the hands-on practicality of the natural world, and it built on the time I had previously worked in a plant production nursery and got a taste of the business side of horticulture.”
Already in her first weeks at her job at Orangewood, Shanaye has worked thinning kiwifruit, packing avocados, doing export load-outs and documentation, and EDI (Electronic Data Inventory). “The best part of the work so far has been the learning and talking with the managers and the boss as we work together or at tea breaks. I have yet to experience a kiwifruit harvest and I realise it will be a challenge because it’s so full on, but that’s also exciting because it’s how you learn.” Shanaye is looking forward to working across the full spectrum of Orangewood’s business. “I’m keen to become familiar with all facets of the kiwifruit business and learn how the detail dovetails with the big picture. At the end of that rotation time I should also be much more valuable to the company. The whole kiwifruit supply chain fascinates me because it covers everything from pre and post-harvest through to export, so my dream career is in this aspect of horticulture.”
At Massey Shanaye was part of a club run by students called the Massey Horticulture Society. “The club helped organise study trips, engage students and was an education–industry link. Some of my friends are still there and I’m keen to maintain contact with them and also with other graduates of my year as they move into their horticulture careers all over the country. In my last year at uni I was inspired by what other recent graduates were doing so I want to help pass that on to others.” Shanaye wants other young people to know that there is so much more to horticulture than production. “Horticulture is a big money industry that involves the supply chain, business, science, post-harvest and research. For a start I’d love to encourage more people back home in Horowhenua to look into horticulture as a career rather than simply as production level market gardening. Because I’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to the bigger context of the whole horticulture industry, I’m keen to help show others what interesting options are available.”
“Healthy food production is more important than ever now, so New Zealand horticulture is entering a whole new era of growth and possibility that also includes the environmental and social aspects that young people feel passionate about. I want to encourage them to step up and out.”
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