The Summerfruit NZ Board and I are looking forward to welcoming many of you to our conference in a few weeks’ time. We are excited to have Dr Matt Whiting, an authority in horticulture and physiology, as our key-note speaker, as well as a variety of experts and speakers bringing different perspectives and backgrounds. We hope the conference programme will both educate and entertain, with plenty of opportunities for everyone to catch up with friends and colleagues in the summerfruit industry.
One of Summerfruit NZ’s strategic objectives is to operate effectively and seek co-funding opportunities with like-minded organisations in horticulture and beyond. This is to deliver further benefits from grower levy investment. All product groups are required to carry out a very similar range of functions, which include meeting all the requirements of running Incorporated Societies, delivering portfolio areas of research and development, biosecurity, communications, market access and export registration, finance and administration, and delivering services and information to benefit our respective sectors.
The Summerfruit NZ Board and I are working on approaches to partner more closely with other product groups, where our operational functions overlap and our needs are aligned. The timing is right. Many horticultural product groups are going through a similar process to Summerfruit NZ’s and grappling with similar challenges around how to deliver our work programmes efficiently and effectively. There will be an update on this work at the conference and Board members and I will be happy to discuss this approach, so please do come and see any of us if you have questions.
This week the Central Otago Young Grower of the Year regional final is taking place. It’s a great opportunity for young growers to showcase their skills and expertise – I wish all the contestants the very best of luck and look forward to seeing the evening speech competition on Friday.
And finally, I’d like to remind growers to please submit your spray diaries if you haven’t already – these are now overdue. Spray diaries provide Summerfruit NZ with essential information so we can monitor and predict trends on different products and can accurately represent the industry.