Avoscene March 2010

T H E N E W Z E A L A N D AV O C A D O G R O W E R S ’ J O U R N A L

Inside this Issue

PDA’s and crop monitoring l Using pheromone traps l

MARCH 2010

Export and local markets l New products and services l

AGA Executive Committee Bay of Plenty Jack Crozier Ph/Fax 07 548 1744 jcrozier@xtra.co.nz Peter Farmer Ph 07 552 4416 or 0292 928 424 peter@farmermotorgroup.co.nz pdfarmer@xtra.co.nz Far North Ian Broadhurst Ph 09 406 7308 m. 021 395 906 bernian.avos@xtra.co.nz Mid North Mike Eagles Ph 09 434 7271 m.eagles@xtra.co.nz At Large Roger Barber (Vice Chairman AGA) Ph/Fax 09 435 0785 barbers@ihug.co.nz Ashby Whitehead Ph 07 573 6680 a&lwhitehead@xtra.co.nz John Schnackenberg (Chairman AGA/AIC) Ph 07 549 0717 jschnack@ihug.co.nz Tony Ponder Ph 07 572 3019 tony@southernproduce.co.nz Rest of NZ David French Ph 09 238 3359 or 0274 375 315 famille@ps.gen.nz Chief Executive Officer Alan Thorn Ph 021 343 576 alanthorn@nzavocado.co.nz Avocado Industry Council Board John Schnackenberg, Roger Barber, Tony Ponder.

Export Directors John Carroll, Andrew Darling.

Avoscene Advertising & Editorial

Contents Chairman’s Comment

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Business Strategy

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Avoscene is published by the Avocado Industry Council For editorial contact: Natasha Mitchell Sun Media Ltd 428 Devonport Road, Tauranga Ph: 07 578 0030 Fax: 07 571 1116 email reporter2@thesun.co.nz For advertising contact: Kathy Andrews at Sun Media Ltd email ads@thesun.co.nz Design and production: Kym Johnson, Sun Media Ltd email kym@thesun.co.nz Printed at: Kale Print Subscriptions NZ $100 plus GST per year (four issues) In New Zealand NZ $27 per single copy

Industry Office PO Box 13267, Tauranga 3141 Ph: 07 571 6147 or 0800 AVOCADO (0800 286 223)

Fax: 07 571 6145 www.nzavocado.co.nz

Avocentric

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Organics 15 Avogreen Export and local markets

18 23 & 25

Regional Roundups

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New products and services

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Chairman’s Comment John Schnackenberg AGA/AIC Chairman

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ence a year makes This time last year I wrote in my opening paragraph, “As I write, another export season is all but over and most of us will now be focusing (on the orchard) on the reasonable crop we have set and are carrying for the next season but are wondering just what 2009 will bring,” - as a response to the extraordinary financial circumstances we were then confronted with.

Subsequently we have enjoyed the most buoyant export avocado season for many a year and are now all looking forward to the final analysis as the exporters balance their books. While all are not created equal, which ever one you have exported with, the outcome should be pretty satisfying!

Interestingly on this orchard, the owner’s focus was briefly not on pest monitoring (December ’08, Jan ’09) and as a consequence of leaf roller flights not detected and acted upon, 20% less has gone into an export tray than should have, a substantial loss to the enterprise, particularly at the values available!

AvoGreen® Following the board meeting of February 25 I can confirm after much discussion the board by majority (10 for, one against, one absent) has supported the introduction of mandatory AvoGreen® for fruit set this coming spring to be exported the following year. AvoGreen® is a key component of the board’s strategy to deliver on the Vision – “12 million trays worth $250m by 2015/16”.

This programme will take a significant time to roll out and the first export season it will affect is not the next, but 2011/12 (18+ months). In all likelihood that season we will have a total crop of 6m+ tray equivalents (TE) and those of us who have been less than diligent on monitoring previously will assist the industry export percentage to rise to 60% - 65% of the total crop through mandatory monitoring.

For that season it is likely our exporters will have to find a home for between 3.6m TE and 3.9m TE “at value”. While 2m TE to 2.5m TE may find their way to Australia, the balance (1.1m to 1.9m TE) will need to go to Japan, Asia and possibly the USA where our fruit will compete with anything else also available.

There are three simple reasons why the board in implementing strategy to deliver on the Vision is compelled on behalf of the industry to introduce mandatory

AvoGreen recognising the “wall of fruit” likely to be upon us from the 2011/12 export season and thereafter; • To lift average export percentages from the low 50%’s to 65% - 70% or higher, • Consequently to reduce the swamping of the local market with non export fruit, • To give our exporters and our fruit a market advantage – a unique selling proposition, so that our fruit competes effectively with other country offerings.

The advantages to the average grower who should be able to lift export percentages significantly are obvious, as are the benefits to the industry as a whole including those elite growers already achieving consistent and high export percentages as a consequence of reducing the oversupply of non export fruit into the local market during the export season.

Class II Fruit A unique set of circumstances in the Australian market and an oversupplied local market created a scenario in which Class II fruit might have been considered an option in Australia in January/February this year.

The Export Management Strategy currently forbids an application by an exporter for an exemption to the requirement that only Class I fruit go to Australia (and Japan, EU and the UK).

There has been a lot of discussion on the topic over the boundary fence following an application last October that was turned down.

The boards’ view remains that as part of the industry strategy to position New Zealand as a premium supplier of avocados Class II fruit should not enter premium markets unless and only in a very auditable fashion that precludes the fruit from competing with Class I fruit in the same market.

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that where a Class II product is offered in the same market Class I fruit is available, the Class I fruit value is discounted, at the 5

Chairman’s Comment John Schnackenberg AGA/AIC Chairman loss to the majority of Class I fruit for a small gain for the minority of Class II fruit.

This rationale also dictates the necessity for AvoGreen® to be mandatory. If exporters had two tranches of fruit, AvoGreen® compliant and not, they would invariably obtain the same lower value, thus any premium attainable would be lost.

Board Restructure To complete this task which has been running for 18 months or more we are proposing to reduce the number of elected AGA representatives from 10 to 8. This will mean that with the two exporter representatives on the AIC board there will be a full board of ten (not twelve as currently). This was supported unanimously by the Board at our recent meeting.

My proposal that we dispense with ‘regional’ representative and ‘at large’ representative labels and just elect ‘directors’ was not supported. Accordingly, we would continue with four regional reps and four at large reps.

The challenge for growers is to ensure they nominate/elect directors (reps) who

are focused on directing the industry through the challenges ahead as we seek to achieve and manage the issues that come with producing 12m trays consistently and sustainably. First and foremost, we want the industry to remain sustainable and profitable for growers.

As a final change, we are proposing that we adopt three year terms rather than the current two years, which again was supported unanimously.

A postal ballot will be held in March/ April over the required rule changes, and if supported by the majority of growers, will be adopted for ensuing elections.

‘Grower’ independence of directors We are a small industry. We all have to pack, local market and export with someone. There is hardly a grower who comes to the board table without direct or indirect connections to other commercial stakeholders within the industry. It is a reality that some of the most ‘engaged’ and capable individuals who put themselves forward to represent growers whom you have elected do have such links. Their skills and knowledge add to the collective wisdom of your board (particularly in understanding packer issues, local market

...continued

issues and export issues) and are invaluable to us all.

Indeed our former chairman was/is a kiwifruit grower, an avocado grower, a packer and a trustee of an exporter’s trust, and is now a director of our export oversight body, the HEA. The board has introduced a clear policy for our members declaring interests that are relevant to our roles as directors of the industry body. These are updated at the beginning of each board (or committee) meeting. Similarly, with respect to any given agenda, conflicts (if any) are declared, understood by fellow directors and managed at the board (committee) table.

In terms of managing the best interests of growers and the industry as a whole (the responsibility we are charged with) there is nothing I have seen either with the previous chairman whom I served under or with our two current representatives who have direct or indirect links to exporters that could in anyway cause raised eyebrows.

We have a committed Board who are working in the best interests of Growers and are making decisions that contribute to the achievement of the Industry Vision - I encourage Growers to support their representatives.

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Business Strategy By Alan Thorn

AIC CEO

Growing demand Those of you who took the opportunity to attend the recent Discussion 2010 meetings heard where the industry strategy is heading and strategic priorities that your AIC directors have set for the management team focus in the next five years.

It is important to remember that NZ industry wide perspective is required of the directors and that the big picture view of industry development dictates the direction and focus that is given to the AIC management team. The three pillars of the strategy are Volume, Value and Leadership. Priority focus areas for the AIC are; 1. Increase/Lift Productivity.

2. Grow Demand.

3. Improve In Market Quality.

4. Deliver Consistency of Production.

5. Maintain Market Access.

Over the next five Avoscene articles I intend to focus on one of these, so for this issue as we close our export season it seems appropriate to look at the Grow Demand priority area.

This is important because as the industry estate comes into production we need to be in a position to be able to market the anticipated volumes. We are all aware of the influence that advertising has on the consumer purchase decision process. The industry investment in generic promotions to increase consumer awareness and grow demand is the primary mechanism we will employ in our markets.

Australian market During 2009 Australian production projection from the Infocado system was for 8.75M trays and the final delivery was 7.79M trays, additionally New Zealand exporters moved 1,84M trays through the market during the export period.

Projections for 2010 are 8.74M trays however the region that most affects our summer window West Australia is projecting 1,058,117 trays a reduction of 29K trays next year. New Zealand volumes are anticipated to be lower in the 2010-11 season as we move into an ‘off ’ year in production.

Comparisons of the total volume of trays in the market and market returns for the 2007-08, 2009-10 seasons indicate that although overall volume increased by approximately half a million trays between these two seasons. In 2007-

08 3.88M trays (1.43M NZ & 2.45M AU) were delivered to the Australian market during our export season and in the 2009-10 season 4.4M (1.53M NZ & 2.87M AU). During 2007-08 the industry reported average FOB return per tray at $18 and although the final results for returns this season are yet to be finalised it is anticipated that they will be considerably better than this position—which raises the question of what the driver has been this season that encouraged Australian consumers to pay up to $5 for fruit at retail.

Promotion investment Avocados Australia raised its industry levies several years ago - it collects A$0.25, less 15% to HAL and spend A$0.2125 per tray equivalent on generic promotions. Additional investment (at a 1:1 ratio by government through Horticulture Australia) to understand the consumer preferences and establish the customer target for promotional focus is made with AU research levies.

During the last five year period Australian growers through their levies have enabled AAL to develop and implement a sophisticated generic promotional effort with investment in the order of some $10 million over this period with a focus on growing demand year-on-year.

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Business Strategy Alan Thorn

Australian consumption reached 2.89 kg/capita during the 2009 year and if the market demand that was experienced during our summer window is anything to go by, it looks promising for the future. We have shown that the summer market can consume some 4.4 million trays at good value and the challenge now is for us to concentrate on how we can maintain this level of consumptive demand and market return in coming seasons.

In the past season New Zealand growers have also mounted a promotional campaign to fill the window between November and February which is a period that has traditionally been a void in the AAL campaign. It is interesting to note also that by our commitment to invest in excess of $360,000 during this period to continue the ‘Add An Avo’ campaign that AAL has for the first time also contributed to promotional investment in this time slot.

It is hard to imagine that the continuity of the message to Australian consumers and also the reach that our investment has enabled has not had a positive impact on influencing consumers purchasing decisions which has in turn increased demand for our product and resulted in exceptional market returns being experienced. Growers should be proud of their decision to support the initiative that we began three seasons ago and need to consider giving support to an ongoing mandate for generic promotions in our export markets. We already contribute via the Hass Avocado Board levy to promotions in the USA. Exporters have won support from Trade and Enterprise for market development work in the Japanese market and growers will need to add their support with generic promotions in due course. It won’t be too long before the AIC will need to consider supporting promotions in Asian and SE Asian markets as our exporters find a home in these markets for the crop we are predicting to produce.

Jim Kochi, the new Chairman of AAL, commenting on the promotion investment by the New Zealand industry in Australia said, “I really appreciate what you guys have done,” which indicates the genuine level of respect for our effort and shows how our Memorandum of 8

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Understanding with AAL is enabling positive pan industry cooperation. Of course we couldn’t have achieved such an ambitious promotions campaign without AAL’s consent to the utilisation of the ‘Add An Avo’ collateral and the ability to add the twist of ‘this summer’ to our promotions is clearly recognised by our Australian counterparts as having real market and consumer impact, and New Zealand growers should also be laying claim to the success in shifting the largest volume at such exceptional value this season – well done!

We should also note that AAL for the first time have extended their promotional spend into the summer window to assist shifting their crop which is also sold in this window and we look forward to a continuation and increase in this spend (especially from Western Australia grower levies).

We must remember that generic promotions are exactly that – generic, and Jim also noted that, “NZ has helped keep the generic promotion focused and avoided regional, country of origin, varietal or seasonal promotion influence.”

Domestic market At the last AGM there was a call to invest a significant amount of growers’ levies in Domestic Promotions, while we acknowledge the success of investment in Australia we must also be aware of the size of the investment that has been made by our Australian counterparts. Simply put, the resources at the AIC’s disposal are not sufficient to mount such a campaign -which we anticipate would need a spend of $250,000+ per annum in New Zealand.

Further, our token effort in the 200708 season with the ‘beautiful inside’ campaign did not translate to a similar consumer expectations and was NOT always beautiful inside. Our biggest enemy in this case is where volumes exceed demand and inventories back up, additionally the requirement to reach export market demands against low export packouts compound the problem.

There is no simple fix to this solution.

It requires effort right along the value chain. Firstly not putting substandard or smaller sized fruit into an already

over supplied market, seeking alternative uses for below grade fruit and managing the supply chain and understanding the inventory flux.

Finally, investment in both generic and targeted promotion to create demand.

The strategic move is to acknowledge the signal that investment at the front end is required to resolve some of the inventory issues first to ensure that promotional investments (which come later) are maximised, and the AIC Board has taken on this approach.

The plans for the coming year are to invest in implementing an inventory management system, ‘AvoMarket’ to monitor the flow of fruit through the domestic market. The philosophy is that an informed market delivers better returns by limiting the opportunity for price discounting. The Hass Avocado Board system in the USA, the AMAPWG data sharing in Europe and the Infocado system in Australia all provide a levelling influence and demonstrate that an informed market place provides improved market performance. It is encouraging to note that all the major domestic marketers that I have contacted have indicated their support for this concept.

The system we intend to implement is modelled on the Australian Infocado system (why reinvent the wheel) which will be in place before the beginning of next season. This will give us the opportunity to bed it down and work through any issues before we hit the next big year.

The next step is to look at how we can make meaningful commitment to the local market in terms of promotion against the requirements of other activities, and to consider which markets require investment at what level and our ability to invest to ensure sustainability in orchard gate returns.

In summary, I congratulate you all on the success of the promotional campaign in Australia this season and trust that the increase in returns that have been gained can enable you to focus on the delivery of even greater volumes of high quality fruit in the coming seasons to capitalise on the efforts that are being made by growers, industry and exporters alike.

Exporters’ Comment

By John Carroll AVEC Chairman

Strong export performance Export packing concluded for the 2009/10 season at the end of February.

Reported figures state that just over 2.2 million trays have been exported, with Australia receiving over 1.8 million of these (or 84%).

On the face of it, this has been a season where Australia has performed extremely well, and 1.8 million trays, while some way off our biggest volume year, is still a significant amount of fruit. Back in November, at the time of the last Avoscene article I wrote, I described the Australian market as “performing strongly”. As I now look back, what was in evidence then was a far cry for just how strong the market became post Christmas and right through until early February. Literally, the numbers were beyond our possible expectation, and the fact they remained as strong for as long was staggering.

Yet we also must assess why this happened, so we can understand properly. Three main factors in my view collided:1. The late Australian Hass competition was very light, with particularly Western Australia falling short on what had been expected.

2. The amount of NZ (and WA) fruit committed to retail programmes meant that there was a shortage of preferred sizes available in wholesale markets. In reality this then impacted upwardly on the pricing in the retail programmes.

3. The Shepard crop out of North Queensland was delayed by rain and cyclone threats for a couple of weeks at a critical time (late January).

So once again we are left a little euphoric as Australia raises its head again and lays claim as our dominant market for volume and value. As exporters, obviously commercially we cannot ignore this, and it does become something of a disincentive for development of other markets.

But we must juggle short term needs versus longer term ones, and the fact that 16% of fruit was exported to markets outside Australia can be viewed as a positive (the glass is half full). Of course it seems we are facing a lighter

crop again next year, so market development will again likely be tempered for the 2010/11 season. At the same time, projections are for an Australian crop not much different to this last season, or certainly out of growing regions most relevant to our supply window.

From my perspective, fruit quality actually held up quite well. We were concerned on occasion that some rot issues might have the potential to develop, but there ended up being no significant issue. Patchy weather tended to be the catalyst when any problems appeared, but mostly this was very manageable. In an earlier Avoscene, I made mention of some early season maturity issues experienced in Japan, and suggested there was some inconsistency with how our fruit had performed; so we need to store that thought and be mindful when we approach next season. AVEC, the Avocado Exporters Council, has asked the AIC to look into maturity assessment and provide any more appropriate guidance.

In recent days, there have been some Industry roadshows discussing AvoGreen®, and I am aware there is strong debate. But I would like to say that AVEC has supported this initiative, and its becoming mandatory. Why? This programme is a genuine effort by New Zealand to separate ourselves from our international competitors, in much the same way the kiwifruit industry has done with Kiwi Green.

We accept there is some cost involved, and some additional organisation for growers and packers, but the potential rewards will be there.

So why mandatory? The bigger and bigger NZ becomes as a supplier, and yes we need the confidence we can get that better/right, the more we need our product effectively regarded as homogeneous. Managing inventories of AvoGreen® fruit versus non- AvoGreen® is not realistic in the commercial world; in my view it is one or the other. The bigger our industry becomes in volume, the more we need to provide a consistent, preferred product. If we do that, we will end up with the pick of customers around the world. I really hope that growers can see the opportunity here, and trust us that this is not an exercise in heaping more compliance on everyone.

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Packers’ Comment

By Michael Ruegg

Road trip – Ode to Mr Smith I’ve had an idea for this column for a few weeks now, maybe more, well since I came back from my last road trip actually – January 29 to be precise.

That’s the date I finished my last road trip, not the time I had the idea for the column… Anyway… in no particular order, I remember photographing the children, and their ever-suffering mother beside a very big fish at Rakaia. And I’m sure I remember a gigantic crayfish staring down at me on Tourist Street, sorry I mean Main Street in Kaikoura.

Oh yes and I remember there was a very large gumboot in some place named Taihape (I did say this was in no particular order).

And now just to emphasise a point, I would like you to read a word that I have written just now – even though you will be reading it much later – and I would like to ask you even though you can’t answer me, to think of the first thing that comes to mind.

BLUFF Say no more, or write no more, as the case may be.

A pear, an apple, a nectarine and an apricot. Colours of green, red, orange, and yellow all contributed to the contrast that was the blue sky, the brown hills, our red bus and my black bike at Cromwell. And when thinking about contrasts, what about the bright orange carrot at Ohakune?

So… most of you reading this, I am sure, will recognise many, if not all of the landmarks that I have written about and I guess you also have some interest in avocados.

The cynics among you may say that the road trip memories that I have shared with you talk more about how a town or an area has identified itself with a product, rather than avocados, but on my (our) road trip I saw more Japanese, American and Australian (well maybe that’s stretching the point) but anyway I saw, ‘lots of people’ taking photos of these products.

I could go on but all road trips must come to an end - back in Kiwifruit country actually, and most of you will know the place I am referring to here.

Kiwi360 have a giant kiwifruit slice beside the road!

I am sure that there are avocados grown here, there, somewhere, even up North I’m led to believe. As for the people taking the photos of these iconic spots - when they go back home, I am sure they will want to show them to all of their friends and families.

Maybe they won’t buy a gumboot but I wonder if they will buy an avocado?

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By Natasha Mitchell

Creative approach adds value From failing crop prices to catastrophic world events such as September 11, Whakamarama’s Brian and Noeleen say their avocado growing journey has been a real awakening.

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on the orchard “From highlights to lowlights, we certainly feel that this has been a huge learning experience and we are keen to share possible growth opportunities with other growers who are experiencing or have experienced a similar fate,” says Noeleen.

The Lambs converted 2.5 hectares of pastoral farmland into an avocado orchard 17 years ago. They also grow feijoas and lavender.

The philosophy of organics matched their beliefs, so they decided to put organic systems in to place and become organic certified.

However watching the trees grow and thrive and turn into what was hopefully a viable commercial crop has had its challenges.

For example, their first crop was shipped at approximately the same time as aeroplanes smashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The Lambs have also survived weather bombs, economic droughts and personal tragedies from inopportune market placements.

“On the flip side of the coin we are living a charmed, healthy life in other ways.”

The Lambs believe diversification and producing value-added products are the only way to make a profit from growing avocados, so they produce certified organic avocado oil and a comprehensive range of certified organic skin care products that incorporates their cold pressed avocado oil as a main ingredient. This is sold at farmers markets and worldwide through their website www. regenerate.co.nz “The orchard cannot sustain itself without having value-added products so they harmonise and compliment each other quite well,” says Noeleen.

However poor returns for fruit mean shelterbelts have not been trimmed for the last two years and minimal inputs have been put in to the land.

“We are hoping this year will be better because of the high prices achieved in Australia,” says Brian.

This year the Lamb’s fruit was exported with JP Exports. Brian believes the company has offered him a fairer system than the seasonal pool for this season.

Brian believes the industry needs more transparency in terms of price reporting and trends.

“We (growers) are left in the dark, we

are not getting the information from the marketers.”

Primary industries such as dairy, sheep, beef and venison have weekly market price reports published in farming newspapers and he would like to see similar information published for avocado growers on the AIC website.

Brian also believes the industry is ignoring a huge problem with packhouses selling reject fruit to supermarkets and hawkers when it should be processed for oil.

“They are making great profits and this has depressed the market for Tag II fruit.

“Growers are fractionalised, protecting their own returns, which is understandable in a limited trading environment. It would be highly desirable and more economically potent if they harmoniously unify and agree

Brian and Noeleen Lamb are finding creative ways to make their Whakamarama orchard profitable.

on a consistent quality product to offer to the local market where all growers benefit,” says Brian.

“The AIC should be sorting these problems out but they say there is no legislative mechanism to enable such behaviour, but that is when communication and effective market leaders need to start talking.

“Maybe we need single desk marketing like kiwifruit (Zespri).

“At the same time avocado oil producers are crying out for more fruit this season but not getting supply because of the hawkers and supermarkets. Oil producers have huge overheads costs and can’t afford to pay more, but what happens when that plant closes down because no-one is supplying them?”

Brian questions the economical feasibility of high pressure processing, another option for Tag II and III fruit which is currently a hot

topic in New Zealand, because it is labour intensive and labour costs are high compared with those in other countries already doing high pressure processing, but he welcomes the possible diversity of another value-added product.

“We ourselves are endeavouring to establish a market overseas for organic avocado oil so we can get consistent prices when export returns are low.

“We have heard Global Gap will be a reality next season, but why? A couple of Australian supermarkets are requesting this, but are the purchasers? Why do we always accept more bureaucracy without challenging its need?

“Bureaucracy gets to a point where growers get worn down with paper work and with its ensuing costs, and walk away. Then what happens when a disaster occurs? No food?

Ancient civilizations have fallen for similar reasons.”

Lamborganics orchard produced about 6800kg per hectare this season but part of the orchard did not have a crop because trees are stressed. Early in the season the export pack out rate was 63% but later on this was lower due to sunburnt fruit from the back of the orchard.

“Anecdotal evidence says we’re doing better putting nothing on than people who spray, because they’re killing all the beneficials as well as the pests.”

Brian believes using biological inputs to improve soil fertility is the way forward, for all growers not just those in to organics.

“Everyone’s putting all this fertiliser on but you need the biology to activate what’s already there, not keep just dumping on more and more artificial fertilisers, to my way of thinking.

“The industry should be looking at organic systems and helping with science to get better production. The way I see it, with Eurogap coming in to the avocado scene next year, everything is moving organic, so why aren’t they now looking at organic systems and bringing the organic way of doing things in to a conventional system?”

Global trends are moving towards consumers being more concerned about how food has been produced. Brian and Noeleen believe research needs to be undertaken to explore the benefits of organic avocado growing.

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By organic avocado grower Matt Leamy

What does env

Photograph courtesy of Matt Leamy

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ironmental sustainability mean ‘Environmental sustainability’ has been used in the context of horticulture for a long time.

Professor David Montgomery talks to the Organics conference about his book Dirt: The Erosion of Civilisations, detailing how the loss of soil is linked to the downfall of civilisations throughout history.

Opinions are many and varied, none but the shortest of sights disagree sustainability is crucial for the future of horticulture, society and our children. The divergence of views is more about how and what. It is really a much too involved subject to attempt discussion in a short article such as this so a quick visit will do.

There are different ways to define it. What makes sense to me in context of our industry is simply: does the orchard management system improve the ecosystem?

Firstly understanding any growing system is also an open-sided ecosystem; some of them more artificial than others but nevertheless on some level, an ecosystem. Quite simply, if a system is deteriorating, at some point the end game is inevitable. The question can apply down to different levels of detail, such as – what is our carbon footprint? – are the products the orchard depends on meeting sustainability principles?

Is the soil carbon increasing or decreasing?

Is our management putting pollutants into the neighbourhood or the waterways? Will this system always be able to control pests and diseases? Is soil health improving or deteriorating?

There is a lot of agreement, and indeed concern, about economic sustainability in our industry. When any business is under economic pressure environmental issues become much less important, doing what needs to be done to still be here tomorrow overrides all else. And indeed sustainability issues are often thought of as long term, which has meant all too often it has not been important to address that as an individual grower or think about it this year.

When one does stop to think about it, it doesn’t take too long to see economic sustainability can only ever have a limited life without environmental sustainability. Too much thinking already, now you may have to do something about it or sell before the signs get too obvious.

None of us really like having rules that direct our orchard management decision-making

process imposed upon us. However, with the recognition in world markets of climate change, which is only really one of many environmental issues that will impact hugely on our children’s lives if not our generation as well, then rules about how we manage our orchards is the way of the future.

New Zealand marketers and politicians have long expounded on the value to New Zealand in maintaining our clean green image. A Ministry for the Environment report from 2001 states “that if New Zealand were to lose its clean green image, it would have an enormous effect on the New Zealand economy”. That same report agrees with many of the organic practitioners and people involved in environmental issues, who consider that the reality on the farm and orchard does not give the image real substance in far too many cases.

There is a lot of good news when you start digging into it a bit. Other industries have found biological systems are not only hugely more sustainable but also healthy, productive and profitable. The right questions to ask are becoming more evident, and the researchers have not answered many of them, which tells us the potential to lift the performance of sustainable food production ecosystems is enormous. It does not need to be an additional cost to the industry or growers, but it does need to become a part of the attitude and culture of growing society’s food. It can be as simple as asking the qualifying question about every input you purchase or management activity you undertake, does this enhance or damage my orchard ecosystem?

Anecdotally it is quite apparent the movement towards organics, or the best of both worlds model of biological horticulture, has gained little traction in our industry. Growers from kiwifruit, pipfruit and the dairy industries have been filling the courses from international speakers lecturing on technical aspects of how to get results without pesticides and with much reduced synthetic chemicals for the last 10 years. At some stage, as an industry we may have to make some choices on where we stand on environmental issues.

The time will soon be gone when people can leave the concern for environmental issues to others; you are either a part of the problem or a part of the solution.

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More and more avocado growers are realising the potential HYDRALADA Machines have to increase productivity and provide a better return for their dollar.

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By Natasha Mitchell

Former New Zealand Avocado Industry Council scientist Dr Jonathan Dixon is excited about the challenges ahead of him after being appointed the research programme director for the California Avocado Commission.

A farewell

Dr Jonathan Dixon is now working for the California Avocado Commission.

Achievements while at the NZAIC Jonathan Dixon joined the AIC in June 2000 as technical officer, tasked with undertaking outturn monitoring in the US. In October 2002 he took on a new position in the AIC as a scientist.

Throughout his employment at the AIC he has helped to produce the various Tech Sheets, Grower’s Manual chapters, the annual research reports and the pocket grower guides - the third of which (Reading your Trees) will be printed by this time next year.

He studied and developed theories on the two-year growth cycle of the Hass avocado tree in New Zealand and heavily researched the problem of biennial bearing. He also made time for a lot of growers along the way, helping them out whether on the phone or through visits to orchards or at field days.

Jonathan left for America in February, after working for the AIC for nine and half years, and is now based at the commission’s offices in Orange County.

He describes the California Avocado Commission as the AIC’s ‘big brother’.

California has a much larger number of avocado orchards, more growers and more funds available for research and other activities.

The commission carries out a lot of promotion and marketing but is solely domestic focussed, unlike the AIC, which focuses on exporting.

Jonathan says his new role as research programme director will be a combination of what he did here in New Zealand mixed with some of the work Dr Henry Pak does.

There are three main responsibilities: 1. Managing the research programme for the research committee. This involves working with scientists and researchers at universities carrying out work for the commission, as well as managing the research budget of approximately $US1 million. It also includes interacting with growers about the research programme, and with government agencies and regulators. Jonathan also expects to attend and present at conferences and seminars as part of this role.

2. Running the commission’s outreach programme. The commission wants to build up a technology transfer programme and improve communication with growers. This programme is the interface between the commission’s research arm and growers. The programme will include field days and seminars. The CAC is also interested in developing a visitor research programme to get people from outside California to visit and share new ideas because networking is important in a small industry such as avocados.

3. Developing the CAC’s research strategy. To date the commission has not had a stand-alone research strategy so Jonathan will be helping to create this within the CAC’s business plan.

Jonathan says the major issues facing the Californian industry are water shortages, pests and phytosanitary issues due to the region’s proximity to Mexico, alternate bearing and frosts (called ‘freezes’ in America).

The CAC has a well-established breeding programme and currently has a number of new varieties coming into commercial production.

Jonathan sees his new role as an important step forward in his career.

“It’s more responsibility and more challenges but also a lot more rewarding and exciting in terms of what I could achieve. It’s going to be a lot of fun to work there and take the step up.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know Californian growers like I have got to know New Zealand growers here, and to learning a lot. I’m sure the grower community isn’t too dissimilar to here, although the grower base has skills we don’t have here. They are good on technical information and there are more avocado researchers so there is more interaction.”

He is hoping to take things he has learnt in New Zealand and apply it to the Californian situation.

“Everyone sees California as the big brother of the avocado scene and it forms the basis of how things are done, so it’s nice to see New Zealand information helping them.

They’ve been very generous with their information in the past, so I’m looking forward to reciprocating and building good relations and contacts with the California industry,” says Jonathan.

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Avogreen

By Dr David Steven, IPM Research Ltd

Using pheromone Periodically I am asked “Why don’t we use pheromone traps to monitor for leafrollers in avocados?”

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In other crops there are pest moths that have peaks of flight activity which can be used to estimate when a spray should be timed to kill the caterpillars of the next generation; but would it work in avocados?

Some avocado growers have tried leafroller pheromone traps, and have found the traps do catch moths, sometimes in reasonable numbers.

Unfortunately the numbers of moths caught doesn’t relate to the number of leafroller caterpillars found in the orchards where the traps are placed, making the technique almost useless.

This is a pity since monitoring using pheromone traps is quick and easy to do, with the pest flying in and so giving a concentrated sample, rather than having to be sought out. It has been considered as a technique we could use in AvoGreen®, but did not make the grade.

There are several reasons for why trapping doesn’t work in avocados.

Firstly we have a number of leafroller species on avocados with brown-headed leafrollers (BHLRs – see box) the most common, followed by light brown apple moth (LBAM) and black-lyre leafroller.

Each species has its own unique mix of pheromone chemicals, since a sex pheromone is the scent message used by a female moth to call a male moth to her for mating, and she does not want to waste effort in attracting useless males of other species. It means that a grower

needs a separate pheromone trap for each species of leafroller of concern, or at least four types of trap to cover the main leafrollers found on avocados in New Zealand.

This would only be a minor complication except for the fact that the traps work at very different levels of effectiveness for the different species.

LBAM traps always catch more moths than traps of any other species, even when over 90% of the caterpillars in the adjacent avocado trees are BHLRs. Whether this is due to some extra potency of the standard lure for LBAM, or in an extreme responsiveness of the male moths of LBAM (perhaps they should be described as sex obsessed!) is unclear. The reason does not matter as it does not alter the fact that moth catches do not reflect what is happening in the crop.

Even focussing on just the trap results for the leafroller of most concern on avocados (BHLRs = Ctenopseustis obliquana and C. “North Island herana”) does not show a clear pattern between the numbers of moths trapped and the numbers of caterpillars found in the crop. You would expect there would be a delayed correlation, since there is a time lapse between moths mating and the damaging caterpillars that arise from the resulting eggs, but no pattern is apparent.

A number of factors would interact to alter the pest population during this period, such as the high death rate that can occur in newly hatched young caterpillars, and also in eggs, which would affect any correlation in a way that varied from time to time.

Another aspect that varies unpredictably

Catches of male moths of Light Brown Apple Moth (left = 79) and Brown-heade Leafroller (right = 3) over the same period.

traps to monitor leafrollers Brown-headed Leafrollers (BHLR) is the catchment area of a trap. Sex pheromones in leafrollers draw in males over a range of at least several hundred metres, while in some larger moths they work for over a kilometre. As the scent has to drift in the breeze, the area covered depends on the wind currents and is an irregular area that varies in both size and shape over time. The leafrollers that are pests of avocados in New Zealand are all generalists that feed on a wide range of plants, including some trees and weeds. This means that a pheromone trap on the down-wind edge of an orchard will be sampling moths coming from outside the orchard rather than those originating within it, so that it is not measuring the resident pests.

However it could still be used to indicate whether or not an orchard is subjected

not been tested is whether an absence of catches indicates that a spray is not needed. This latter approach has been used successfully in apple orchards in New Zealand. However in apples LBAM is the main pest with the native leafrollers such as BHLR being lesser pests, which is the reverse of our situation in avocados. I suspect that in avocados an absence would not reliably show when a spray is not needed.

My comments above refer to using pheromone traps to predict when sprays should be applied to prevent leafroller damage to fruit. Leafrollers are also significant quarantine pests, at all stages but in avocado crops particularly as eggs and caterpillars. There may be a place for pheromone traps as a monitoring tool just before and during harvest. However

The two species of BHLR, Ctenopseustis obliquana and C. “North Island herana”, are lumped together because they are so closely related that they can only be separated by the pheromone used or by genetic techniques which were not available when most of the research was carried out. The name Ctenopseustis “North Island herana” indicates a distinct leafroller type or taxon that has not yet been formally described as a species within the genus Ctenopseustis (Dugdale et al. 2008).

AvoGreen® is open to improvements, and different ways of monitoring pests merit consideration. However pheromone traps for leafrollers have been found wanting as a possible replacement for the direct monitoring of caterpillars on fruit in order to time sprays to prevent damage.

Dr David Steven IPM Research Ltd PO Box 36-012 Auckland 0748 AvoPest : 0508 286 7378 dsteven@ipmresearch.co.nz Disclaimer : The views expressed are those of the author

A leafroller trap. White traps have now been replaced by coloured ones to reduce the accidental trapping of bees.

to significant invasion by leafrollers.

Although pheromone catches do not reliably indicate the numbers of caterpillars present, one point that has

it may be simpler just to sample for eggs as well as caterpillars on the fruit prior to harvest, and to effectively use water blasters to remove both stages.

Reference: Dugdale, J.S.; Gleeson, D.; Clunie, L.H., and Holder, P.W. 2008. A diagnostic guide to Tortricidae encountered in field surveys and quarantine inspections in New Zealand: morphological and molecular characters (updated May 2008), MAF, Wellington, 163 pp 19

By Midge Munro

Crowds enjoy Avocado cheesecakes, chocolates and guacamole were among the tasty treats available to the 1700 festival goers at the 2010 Avocado Food and Wine festival held in Katikati on January 10.

Hordes lined up to try the guacamole competition entries which were prepared on the day by four finalists – who were all avocado growers as well – Alaric Newbald, Jane Munro, Peter Nicholas and Kia Lippiat.

The winning entry, as judged by chefs Peter Blakeway of Deli on Devonport/

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Plenti Cookschool and Stacey Mclean of Twickenham Restaurant, was prepared by Jane Munro. The recipe named “Green with Basil” was also voted best guacamole in the public choice category.

Kerry Guy took out the Avocado Cheesecake competition with a beautifully presented savoury cheesecake accompanied by a selection of interesting sauces and toasted bread.

Avocado cooking demonstrations were also a major attraction of the day.

Festival organiser David Crispin from the Katikati Pakeke Lions has had lots of positive feedback about this years’ event.

“I have had emails from people wanting to know when the event is next year so they can plan their holiday to the Bay to coincide, I have even had one from a couple who attended the festival on holiday from Alaska asking for the

a taste of avocado Photos by Natasha Mitchell

Jane Munro’s ‘Green with Basil’ Guacamole Recipe

winning guacamole recipe!

“There is no question that this year’s festival was an excellent event.”

The avocado industry is hoping to become more involved in the organisation and support of the event as it is a good way to get people tasting avocados and learning what can be done with them in the kitchen.

Proceeds from the festival were donated to community venue, Aongatete Lodge in Katikati to assist with their running costs.

Thanks to those who entered the festival

competitions – they were a great success and if you think you have a winning recipe look out for the open of entries for the 2011 event in November.

2 Ripe Hass Avocados 2 Tbsp Meyer lemon Juice 1 Medium Red Onion 1 Red Cayenne Chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 1 Large Beef Steak Tomato, skinned, deseeded and finely chopped 1 Larger Garlic Clove, crushed with mortar and pestle Basil leaves fresh, enough to make 1 tbsp when crushed with mortar and pestle Salt and pepper to taste

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By Natasha Mitchell

An outstanding export season New Zealand avocado growers and exporters achieved the best export returns in 20 years in the Australian market during the 2009/2010 export season.

Retail prices soared to up to $AU5 per piece in premium stores in premium locations as demand outstripped supply in New Zealand’s key export market.

Western Australia had less fruit than expected due to a cold winter and while New Zealand experienced an ‘on’ year, storms in Northland meant lower export pack-outs due to wind damage.

Team Avocado director Carwyn Williams says many struggled to supply enough fruit to meet demand.

“Consumption just kept on going up. It was incredible,” says Carwyn.

Global Fresh marketing director Steve Trickett says the exchange rate was also in New Zealand’s favour, with the NZ Dollar sitting at around $AU0.80 this season.

“Typically retail ticket prices of above $AU2 are a handbrake on consumer spending but the thinner volumes for Australia coupled with good strong demand made for the ideal recipe,” says Steve.

Paul Robertson, avocado business manager for Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, says fruit quality was good this season.

“It was a medium volume year and the industry average export pack-out was about 62 per cent, which is the best seen for a long time,” says Paul.

“In a lower volume year the fruit is usually a larger size and hangs more in singulars than bunches. This means you get better spray coverage and improved quality.”

Freshco product manager Brent Stewart says this season’s experience shows the Australian market is still growing.

“There’s a percentage of the population that have to have them and for the market to be so resilient at such high values is nice,” says Brent.

However Brent and Carwyn believe it is not just the shortage of Australian fruit that

influenced prices this year.

“The work done in the past in terms of consumer education and retail produce manager education really fell in to place in terms of delivering good product,” says Carwyn.

“Consumers know what an avocado is and they want more.”

Brent: “The Australians have put a lot of time and effort into the promotion of avocados. That’s got to have a flow-on effect into our season.

“This year the AIC also did a promotional programme that continued the same theme, so there has been a consistent message throughout the year, which is a good thing.”

Avocados Australia Ltd’s ‘Add an Avo’ campaign became ‘Add an Avo this Summer’ from November 2009 to January 2010 when the Australian industry normally stops active promotion and the AIC took over the campaign.

New Zealand exporters also sent fruit to Japan and the USA under the AVANZA joint marketing group.

There were some early season quality issues in Japan due to fruit maturity problems, says Carwyn.

“Even though it has passed the 24 per cent dry matter export standard it didn’t have the oil content and was full of rots and had red coloured skin. It took a bit of work to rebuild the confidence of the Japanese market. We have sold them on high quality and delivered that for the last three years.”

Once these issues were dealt with AVANZA managed to sell the largest amount of fruit since exports to Japan began – more than 200,000 trays.

Exporters also sent fruit to Singapore, Korea and Hong Kong. Primor Produce director John Carroll says the performance in Singapore was pleasing.

“It was not spectacular in terms of value but we were delighted how much fruit we managed to sell. We’ve got to be prepared to ship enough fruit to make some progress next year.”

Steve agrees: “We’ve got to think beyond Australia. New market development is important for all exporters.”

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By Natasha Mitchell

Local market demand on the rise New Zealand avocado industry representatives have mixed feelings on local market performance during the 2009/2010 season.

Despite good fruit quality, prices were low throughout the season and did not pick up until mid-February, leaving many sales managers and growers disappointed. However others say the fact very little fruit went to oil processing this year shows there was increased demand.

Primor Produce sales and marketing Regan Booth says demand for avocados was good before Christmas and there were many promotions in November and December.

However Team Avocado director Alistair Young believes the aggressive early season promotional campaigns were unnecessary and prematurely devalued retail prices. “Promoting avocados in New Zealand should be aligned with the volume being harvested, not just done for the sake of it,” says Alistair.

Team Avocado domestic sales manager Dave Mandeno, who manages the wholesale programme, says high fruit volumes also drove prices down.

“We always get this every second year when we get an ‘on’ year for avocados.

We get over-supply in the domestic market with resulting rubbish prices.”

Apata Ltd marketing manager Jim Tarawa thinks overall the local market performed better than expected.

“There was a lot of fruit to be sold. The expectation was value would be very, very low because of that, but it wasn’t. It was about 30 per cent up on forecasts,” says Jim. “I’ve had a few growers say to me ‘the local market is a disaster’, but there was consumption; we had a big crop but we couldn’t satisfy demand. We just need to get the values up.

“As an industry, in previous big years some packhouses have just sent local market fruit to oil. That didn’t happen this year.

“We had 1.8 million trays for a country of four million people – that’s a lot of fruit for people to eat.”

Jim says in the past the local market has been accused of being ‘disorganised’ but things are improving, partially due to industry consolidation.

“There are fewer players, which is good.

Some people think that’s a bad thing but there’s more of a structured approach.”

Dave agrees there has been improvement.

“People used to pick fruit immature to hit the market when prices were high and that was doing the industry a major disservice, but now there seems to be

much more discipline and people are adhering to dry matter levels.”

Improved organisation and market discipline mean a better product delivered to consumers, which should in turn mean better returns.

“You can’t forget the consumer – you have to build a reputation and give them a reason to buy, in terms of quality and delivery,” says Jim. “We need to win the hearts and the minds; to get people to recognise avocados as a weekly item – like bananas and potatoes; you just always buy them.

Avocados need to become part of New Zealanders’ diet and lifestyle.”

Regan says every year more people are trying avocados for the first time and coming back for more. He believes preripening programmes play an important role in increasing demand.

Primor Produce and Team Avocado are both involved in pre-ripening programmes for NZ supermarket chains.

Education is also important.

“The aim is to get produce managers to understand there’s more money to be made if you get it right. We want consumer to take have a good experience and come back for more,” says Regan.

Dave and Alistair still believe a high pressure processing plant would benefit NZ growers, although an initial proposal to build one failed to go ahead due to insufficient investor support.

25

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All growers will have received a survey from the AIC in late February – if you did not receive one please contact the AIC as we may need to update your address details – similarly if you have misplaced your survey you can download one from the website www. nzavocado.co.nz The Grower Survey is an important tool for the AIC to be able to set a benchmark for the performance of the industry body.

The most important part of the survey is gathering information about you, our growers - what you think of the industry, your commitment to it, what things you think we are doing well and those things that you think we aren’t doing so well at. All this information helps us to get a picture of where the industry is at and helps us to decide what areas we need to improve on and those positive things that we can replicate in other areas.

The long term plan for the survey is to repeat it regularly in order to evaluate the effectiveness of different projects and monitor the changing attitudes of growers.

The last grower survey was conducted in 2007. This current survey has taken questions from this which will be able to be compared, but the information being gathered this year has been broadened extensively.

It is important that you take the time (10-15 minutes) to complete your form and send it back to us, as the conclusions drawn from the survey will influence the projects the AIC decides to undertake.

This is not just a satisfaction survey; it is an outreach for your feedback, ideas and opinions which are highly important in driving the action we take.

A reminder that the survey is due to the AIC by March 31, 2010 and all surveys sent back (with contact details included) will be entered into the draw to win two nights away in Auckland including breakfast and a $50 bar tab - kindly provided by the AIC’s preferred Travel Agent, United Travel.

Phone the AIC on 07 571 6147 or Toll Free on 0800 AVOCADO if you have any questions about the Grower Survey.

By Kate Gordon

PDA facilitates accurate monitoring A clear understanding of the information a grower really needs about their crops’ pest and disease status has seen Fruitfed Supplies’ Crop Monitoring Service develop several innovative technologies to aid growers.

Trained crop monitoring scouts from Fruitfed Supplies’ Crop Monitoring Services have been entering field data on hand-held computers, or PDAs, for the past two years, with data collated into a centralised database. Reports are provided to growers within a few minutes, allowing prompt, well-informed decisions to be made regarding the application of necessary crop protection products. The PDA technology and auditable reporting system is also available via a lease plan ideally suited to avocado growers.

CMS manager Linda Haughey explains: “Our first step was to develop a central database system we call Tracit, which records the key pests and diseases, as well as beneficial insect numbers, in all key commercial horticulture crops grown in New Zealand, including avocados. In developing the monitoring programmes for each crop we have worked closely with industry organisations, such as the Avocado Industry Council, to ensure that key parameters for crop quality and safety are accurately measured.”

Trials for entering field data on the PDA via the Tracit software started in June 2007. These progressed very successfully, says Linda, and now all crop monitoring results are captured on a Tracit-enabled PDA in the orchard.

“The Tracit software, which we have developed in association with Muddy Boots Software, has proved very robust,” says Linda.

“This means the accuracy with which data is collected and collated into the specific reports for each grower is very high. The data and reports form a completely auditable trail of information for the grower, meeting the exacting standards of quality control programmes such as Global GAP.” Haughey says growers have been seeking more efficient ways to record essential data from important crop management practices such as crop monitoring.

“Feedback from CMS staff and growers using the Tracit PDA highlights the system’s ease of use, and speed and efficiency for collecting data. You can have confidence in the data being collected. Figures, such as insect counts and percentage of leaves affected by disease, can only be entered in specific ways, with no short cuts, which reduces the likelihood of errors.

“Reports with the crop monitoring results processed within 15 minutes of the data being sent from the field. We can also automatically send multiple copies to a grower’s consultant, packhouse and/or spray contractor – these are all elements a grower can specify to suit their operation.”

The clear, professionally-laid out reports are also stored in Tracit providing the grower with a back-up system. “And copies of reports can be generated at any time.”

The speed of reports being sent to growers and the ability to provide a copy to relevant packhouse personnel and spray contractors are two key benefits of the CMS PDA Tracit system, according to Brett Jeeves, managing

director of Golden Mile Fruitpackers Ltd, a dedicated avocado facility near Whangarei.

“The format of the reports makes them very easy to use. Quite a big percentage of our growers use the Fruitfed Supplies crop monitoring service and their reports are received virtually straight away.

Copies are sent to me and our grower services rep, so we’re working in real time and can help our growers act straight away if a particular threshold has been exceeded,” says Brett.

“An example: when thrips numbers start to feature on the monitoring reports, we can actively help our growers pre-empt any explosions in thrips populations.

They can do a lot of damage, so you want to be on to them quickly, and having this information provided so promptly enables us to be contacting growers to highlight the pest trends in our region.

“We see the PDA data input/reporting enhancements to CMS as an extension of what is already a very good service,” says Brett.

The option for growers to lease a Tracitenabled PDA is proving increasingly popular, notes Linda.

“This service is particularly useful for growers in areas outside those covered by the CMS personnel, or they might simply prefer to do the monitoring themselves.

“Growers who use the PDAs and CMS crop monitoring reporting system frequently say how easy it is to meet audit requirements. They have timely, accurate information upon which crop management decisions can safely be based. This shows that the utilisation of a professional crop monitoring service is becoming a vital and worthwhile investment in your crop’s marketability,” says Linda.

27

By Midge Munro

Road shows provide food Discussion 2010 saw CEO Alan Thorn, Technical Manager Dr Henry Pak and Chairman John Schnackenberg along with the various Grower Representatives make their way through the growing regions seeking feedback from Growers on important industry issues.

Six meetings were held from Houhora to Te Puke.

The main topic of discussion was the move to make AvoGreen® a requirement of export – which evoked mixed reactions from industry participants; however, many realised the significance of the move and the benefits to the future of the industry.

Alan Thorn Industry CEO was looking for feedback on the strategic direction of the industry and gave a summary of the challenges the industry faces and a list of the strategic priorities as set by the

28

Board.

1 Increase/lift productivity.

2 Grow demand.

3 Improve in-market quality.

4 Deliver consistency of production.

5 Maintain market access.

6 Good governance.

Alan shared his confidence in the strategic plan as set by the Board, “We have a strong board – the industry is well-served.”

Alan talked about the focus for this year (2010) being to go back to basics “We have to focus on getting the knowledge we currently have out to the orchards.”

This involves effective transfer of the knowledge and technology on basic topics like nutrition, shelter, irrigation etc.

Feedback taken from Northland growers suggested that there is also a need for a different educational approach for the industry’s high producers who have the basics right and are looking for more advanced techniques and technologies to boost their already high yields.

AvoGreen® was the main discussion point of the meetings. Alan explained

that the push towards implementing the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system is driven by the markets, “Consumers are increasingly aware of carbon footprints and residues. People want to know where their food has come from and how it has been produced – we need to be able to give our customers the kind of assurances that gives our product a point of difference or at least a competitive chance in our current and future markets.”

Technical Manager Dr Henry Pak lead the conversation on AvoGreen® and the proposed changes to the system.

He emphasised the point that with increased production, NZ exporters are going to have to find other markets to take the increased volume of fruit and that these other markets are becoming increasingly sensitive to “green” issues.

Additionally, in each of the markets we supply there is competition from other suppliers.

“We need to differentiate our product in markets where we compete – consumers are more demanding of assurances, this is the current reality in European markets and this is spreading

for thought He used the Avocados Australia Ltd example where they have consistently promoted year on year and are now seeing real results in a lift in per capita consumption and in planned purchases of avocados by consumers.

Alan also proposed a levy on all fruit exported to create a fund for promotion development in emerging markets.

As for domestic promotions Alan explained that the remit from growers (voted on at the 2009 AGM) to spend 40% of Commodity Levy funds on domestic promotion isn’t possible given resources and commitments, “With the crop estimate of 1.2 m trays the industry simply cannot afford to spend that sort of money on promotion in the domestic market, there are other essential industry operations that we have to put priority on.” In addition Alan explained that to undertake a campaign and do a good job would require far more money than is available from the current crop.

He then added that some funds will be spent this year on the development of a domestic market volume flow reporting system which will give commercial participants in the local market valuable

to other markets.”

Henry explained the reason for the proposal toward a requirement for AvoGreen® implementation among registered export growers, “We have struggled with voluntary AvoGreen® uptake – we need to make it a requirement for export so we can give a formal assurance to markets.”

“AvoGreen® is an important part of achieving the strategy, we have to move forward now and be proactive – not wait for the markets to shut us out before we act.”

The review by the NZ Food Safety Authority of the Food Safety act was also touched on by Henry who explained that “All growers of produce will be required to have a food safety programme in place.

The AIC is working with NZFSA to develop an industry-wide programme.”

Alan then gave an overview of the promotion campaign undertaken in Australia this season and explained the importance of growers’ continued support of this.

“We need to start thinking about the future and start positioning ourselves properly when it comes to promotion.”

information about the way fruit flows through the market. “The AvoMarket reporting system is an essential layer that needs to underpin any promotion that the industry may undertake in New Zealand in the future.”

Chairman, John Schnackenberg talked about reducing the number of members on the Board. “Twelve has never been a workable number – I feel we can be more efficient with less.”

His proposal (presented to the Board 25 February, prior to print) sets out the argument.

“I propose a reduction to ten Board members total – two export Directors and eight grower reps.”

Thank you to all the growers and other industry participants that took the time to come along to the meetings, this was still only a small number compared to the total amount of growers there are in the industry. So please do encourage your avocado growing neighbours and colleagues to attend these meetings in the future as this is your and their industry and we need to consider your viewpoint to ensure we are driving the industry to the right place - together.

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Ph 07 578 9107 Mob 0274 769 087 john.emett@dms4kiwi.co.nz

DMS is the one to increase your grower profit. Lets talk.

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Regional Roundups

By Peter Farmer The recent growing difficulties BAY O F P L E N T Y experienced with some key Australian growing areas has provided a welcome income boost for many New Zealand growers as scarcity of supply boosted export prices.

One country’s misfortune is an opportunity for another.

This opportunity to enjoy these higher export prices has been greatly facilitated by the New Zealand exporters/industry and AIC consistency in marketing and supply/distribution strategy.

This has got me thinking that the key to any success is always “consistency”.

We as growers and as an industry in general need to be “consistent” as Mother Nature is not.

This “consistency” manifests itself within our fertilisation plans, irrigation systems, spraying/monitoring regimes, pruning, and of course our industry’s export and domestic marketing.

If all of us as full time/part time orchardists focus on our medium/long term plans and “persistent mindset” while retaining our consistency, then we will always enjoy success. It’s largely within the law of averages that you will enjoy some truly excellent years as many have within the recent Australian export market scene.

The key is to retain consistency within your orchard and persistence within your own mindset.

This also equally applies (maybe more so), to the AGA/AIC within its focus to achieve profitable (for all stakeholders) growth towards the NZ Industry target of $250 million value over the next 5 – 6 years.

As a “new” grower (6.0ha), I am pleased and proud to report I have harvested my first crop. It’s a great feeling to know 30

consumers in NZ and Australia are enjoying my fruit. I hope they enjoy eating them as much as I enjoyed growing them.

All I need to do now is ensure my crops grow in number and quality (including pack-out percentage) over the next 5 – 10 years. To achieve that I will need to be…

Yes, you’ve guessed it…“consistent” and “persistent”.

By Ian Broadhurst Since my last regional roundup the Far North has experienced the whole range FAR NORTH of extremes from one of the coldest springs in recent memory to a drought currently which has seen barely 30mm of rainfall since the beginning of December.

The positive aspect of the great spell of weather is the trees are all in excellent health, summer flush is progressing well and the hot dry conditions have enabled most growers to control six spotted mite in conjunction with well timed spray regimes.

Most growers in the Far North are fortunate enough to have excellent irrigation systems drawing off a substantial underground aquifer. While having the capacity is great, scheduling and maintenance of these systems requires constant attention, with the very dry conditions missing a irrigation cycle or under watering will have a severe effect on the trees ability to hold fruit and will look to shed fruit if put under any stress.

Current nationwide crop estimates are indicating overall production could be down from this season. On this basis we could reasonably expect to have another good result for next export season in terms of returns so the attention required to ensure the export pack outs are high are as relevant as ever.

Attention to insect pests at this time

requires plenty of consideration as the new fruit is particularly at risk to leaf roller chew while thrip numbers are on the increase and can cause extensive damage in a short period. I would suggest that crop monitoring on constant basis would offer huge payback to ensure minimal crop damage from insects, at this time of the year monitoring every fortnight is too far apart. Those with the skills to monitor your own crop are probably doing this as a matter of course others I suggest would do well to learn those skills to provide real time information to manage your crops and improve export pack outs.

Now also would be a good time to discuss with your exporter the potential markets for next year based on the expected volumes, each market has differing requirements in terms of spray residues, so knowing those destinations may well give growers different options in terms of chemical selection.

The Far North crop appears to be good overall with pockets of better set than others but nett result for next season looks very promising, we are fortunate indeed in the Far North not to suffer from the issues surrounding boom bust crops.

Thanks to those growers who attended the recent roadshows, the feed back from these is invaluable and gives the executive the direction required to progress the industry in an informed manner.

Also thanks to those that made submissions to the EMS and recent Grade Standard review, both these items are always hot debated and worthy of the effort put in to ensure they fairly represent the greater good for growers.

BAY O F P L E N T Y

By Jack Crozier At the time of writing this article the export

season is just drawing to an end and the packhouses will be assessing what happened over the last five months of picking and packing. One thing that really stands out, I am sure, is the very low export packouts most of us had this season—we really must achieve 75-80% packouts to make this industry of ours viable to be in.

We all knew that it was going to be a relatively big “on” year and the local market would be producing low returns as it had done in the last “on” year.

Admittedly idly many orchards sustained a lot of damage from hail in the northern Bay which added to the 44% reject count.

There can be many reasons for the high reject count, all indefensible: 1. Many growers did not realise they had set such a big crop and it is not worth spraying a small crop.

2. “Sprays and spraying contractors are too expensive so it is not worthwhile any more.”

3. “Think I will just go local market and save the hassle.”

When the export final pay outs are out, we can calculate what that bad decision cost us this last season. With a reduction of 10% in the rejects and orchard gate returns of $20/tray plus export, compared with $5.00/tray on the local market, it has to be a “no brainer”.

The trial blocks on my orchard with three times concentrate spray were something to be happy about, but the other blocks were not so good. The fruit on the trial blocks had to be tested to be residue free before I could concentrate spray on the rest of the orchard. This was in February 2009 and I think the damage was already done.

This year I am still going Avogreen and spraying with three times concentrate.

To improve the spray penetration we are removing branches to open up the crowns of our large trees.

By David French Although the export season is drawing to a close it AT LARGE is important to remember that our trees never really stop growing. There is always something going on in or around your trees. At the moment I believe the most important jobs are monitoring irrigation (for those of us with irrigation systems) and monitoring insect pest levels (for those of us with a crop to protect).

We are also getting ready to inject phytopthora infected trees as soon as export picking finishes.

Two winters ago (May-June 2008) my young orchard was badly affected by frosts. The trees were three and a half years old at the time. As well as losing about 20-30% of the fruit we lost many of the flower buds. I estimate that we lost close to 100% of the flowers on about 60% of the trees. This meant that one year of frosts took out two years of production. We were not keen to let this happen again, so last autumn we installed a relatively simple and cheap Frost Protection System which utilised our existing sprinkler irrigation system.

The winter of 2009 proved to be one of the worst for many years as we had many severe frosts. Although we did get some leaf burn and lost a bit of flower buds, I don’t think we lost a single fruit through direct frost damage. The flowering and subsequent fruit set on this orchard in 2009/2010 has been adequate and I am sure that with out the sprinklers giving frost protection our damage in 2009 would have been worse than 2008.

With winter fast approaching and Europe and North America having a cold winter with heaps of snow, it would be a good time for any growers in risky frost areas to seriously look at some

form of protection. Although it can seem expensive at the time, a good Frost Protection System will probably seem cheap in hindsight if it saves your crop.

By Mike Eagles At last we have got some rain after months M I D N O R T H of waiting and the trees will certainly appreciate it. It was certainly one of the longest dry periods I have experienced and the irrigation systems in the Mid North have been worth their weight in gold. A bit more rain would certainly help, but the 73mm I got was very useful.

Export picking is just winding down as I write this and many people are trying to get fruit off their trees for the final shipments to Australia as the prices are too good to miss. With the hard financial times recently for many growers, the excellent returns from Australia have certainly been a blessing in helping us balance our books.

The fruit set for next season seems to be very patchy with reports of some very good sets, but also some poor ones.

I have attended two AGA sub committee meetings recently, EMS and AvoGreen where there has been some excellent robust debate; I would welcome grower’s opinions on the EMS and AvoGreen issues and any other issues for that matter at m.eagles@xtra. co.nz.

Lastly I would like to pass my condolences on to the family of Trevor Robson who tragically passed away over the holiday period. Trevor was a strong contributor to the industry through his orchard and his contracting business and will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

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Industry News Annual Research Report Vol. 8 available now The AIC Annual Research Report Vol. 8 is available online at www.nzavocado. co.nz or you can purchase a printed book for $65 by phoning the AIC on 571 6147 or toll free 0800 286 2236.

AGA Growers’ Manual Organic Avocado Production Chapter An updated and extended Organic Avocado Production chapter for your AGA Growers’ Manual is available for $25 by phoning the AIC. Are you still seeing the old website?

For those of you who access the nzavocado website through your favourites function, you may still be hooked into the old website. To overcome this, please go to http://www.nzavocado. co.nz/index.php/pi_pageid/176 and then resave this address to your favourites. If you are unsure whether you are accessing the old website or not, please call Midge at the AIC. Grower Survey 2010 due March 31, 2010 All surveys received (with contact details included) will be entered into the draw to win two nights accommodation including breakfast and a $50 bar tab, kindly provided by the AIC’s preferred travel agent – United Travel. If you have not received your survey form please call the AIC. 2010/11 Season Export Registration Export registration will be conducted online this year as we have done for the past two seasons. The facility to register for export for the coming season will be available from the beginning of May with Grower export registration due 30 June 2010 for the earlybird discount.

Those growers who cannot register online

can either seek assistance through their Packhouse/Exporter or can request a paper form to fill in which will attract an additional $20 administration fee.

Avocado Awards Nominations due April 16, 2010 The Avocado Growers’ Association (AGA) would like to call for nominations from all members of the AGA for the following awards, to be presented at the AGM, 27 August in Tauranga.

There are three categories of awards: 1) Life Members With a limit of five life members at any one time, the purpose of this award is to acknowledge and recognise leadership contributions and input into the Avocado Growers’ Association which materially advance the Association to the benefit of members. Life membership of the association is restricted to members of the Association.

2) Avocado Award This award is to acknowledge and recognise contributions to the avocado sector that change or alter the business resulting in advancement forward in the avocado sector. The purpose of this award is to recognise contributions in all areas of the sector and including but not limited to marketing, research and development and product and production innovation.

This category of award is open to any industry stakeholder or participant.

3) Service Award This award is given in recognition of service to the sector by an AGA executive committee member who has served two or more terms.

Please email your nominations to Edwina at the AIC before Friday April 16, 2010 eaitchison@nzavocado.co.nz Effective Supervision Course Effective Supervision – National Certificate in Business – First Line Management (L4) course. Fruition Horticulture are pleased to be able to

offer this course in conjunction with the BoP Polytechnic in the Bay of Plenty in 2010 for the improved price of $295 (previously $650) including GST per person.If you require further information, or enrolment forms, please email wendybradley@fruition.net.nz or phone 07 928 5350.

Introduction to Avocado Production The Bay of Plenty Polytechnic is offering this course again in 2010, covering Plant Growth, Soil & Fertility and Pests & Diseases. Enrol now before the course start date of March 22. This is a fantastic course for those new to the industry or those who want a better understanding of how the avocado tree grows and how different management practice affect production. Phone BOP Polytechnic 0800 267 7659.

VII World Avocado Congress 2011 Cairns, Australia Held only every four years, this World Congress presents a great opportunity to see an avocado growing country while learning the latest techniques for growing, finding out all about avocado marketing and how the economy and climate change are going to impact on our industry.

To keep updated with the VII World Avocado Congress programs, registrations and other activities, please sign up to the Congress’ email update at www. worldavocadocongress2011.com AvoGreen Trainers Sought A feature of the new AvoGreen system is the introduction of Accredited AvoGreen Trainers, who will be approved to train and accredit monitors. Details of the requirements for accreditation as a trainer are yet to be finalised. We invite people interested in becoming an Accredited AvoGreen® Trainer to register their interest with, Sheryl Wilson at the AIC sherylwilson@nzavocado.co.nz phone 0800 AVOCADO. 33

New Products and Services Just avo’s and only avo’s

It’s time for a change...Global Fresh are launching a new avocado company, dedicated to serving both growers and international customers all the benefits of a fully integrated “Avocado only” business model.

Our mission is to extract and deliver improved OGR, by way of reduced costs and enhanced value, exploiting the benefits of being a specialised “one stop shop”.

‘Just Avocados Limited’ will be the only company in the New Zealand avocado industry with the capacity and skill set to seamlessly manage orchards, pick, pack, export and market avocados to the global

marketplace.

In this business kiwifruit don’t feature in our plans - We’re Just Avocados, and we’re only about avo’s.

Tony Sinkovich and Andrew Darling of Just Avocados Ltd inspecting early crops for the new venture

Over the next month we will be out and about to tell you more about Just Avocados, but for any queries meantime, please contact us at:

54 Woodland Road, Katikati.

Phone 07-549-3027 Andrew Darling 021-497-666

Protect your property and our environment with Agrecovery!

Do you have agrichemical containers lying around on your property? Are you wondering what to do with those expired chemicals sitting in the shed? Then now is the time to contact Agrecovery.

The Agrecovery Rural Recycling programme provides a simple solution for this problematic waste, recycling your plastic agrichemical containers into useful end products, and providing a safe means of disposal for unwanted agrichemicals.

Compliance programmes and consumer demands are placing increased pressure on growers to manage their environmental footprint in a positive

way. Agrecovery can provide compliance records for NZGAP and other quality assurance programmes via our online “Smart Member Services” or by post, providing proof of your participation in the programme.

Don’t forget, it’s free for all growers to use the Agrecovery Container programme!

Web: www.agrecovery.co.nz Freephone: 0800 0800 247 326 Email: info@agrecovery.co.nz

Avocado core sampler - dry matter & maturity testing Our Avocado Core Sampler reduces labour with efficient time management to remove core from the Avocado for maturity testing • Quick • Simple • Easy to use • Accurate results are obtained because identical samples allow a testing process with - Identical material each time • Assistance with dry matter timeframe because of size parity Our Limited Production Run offers this Unique Core Sampler. Register your details with us now to take advantage of this opportunity.

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Priced at $725.00 plus GST ex our site, the Avocado Core Sampler can be freighted to you.

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Do you have a new product or service you want to promote?

Avoscene is the perfect place to launch that promotion. You get space for a headline and approximately 100-150 words of editorial, your logo and contact details and a photograph.

(See page 35 of this issue for examples).

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Make sure you book your advertising space for the next issue of Avoscene due out in June.

Contact Sun Media on 07 578 0030 or daphne@thesun.co.nz.

Booking deadline is May 30th, 2010.

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