A group of 11 young Australian vegetable growers has returned from a two-week industry leadership and development mission to New Zealand and California with a better understanding of the challenges that growers from around the world face in supplying fresh vegetables to their consumers, as well as new ideas on how to improve production practices back home.

The tour, led by AUSVEG, gave growers the chance to visit leading vegetable growers, researchers, agribusinesses and supermarkets in New Zealand’s North Island and California. As a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund, this industry leadership and development mission had a strong focus on exposing the tour’s young participants to the latest innovations taking place in the global industry and extending their networks with some of the region’s leading vegetable producers.

After arriving in Wellington, the group travelled by bus to Otaki/Levin, Hawke’s Bay and Pukekohe growing regions, visiting some of the Island’s leading growers – big and small, conventional and organic.

The group was also treated to a presentation from Plant & Food Research New Zealand on research undertaken on disease suppressive soils and visited multiple supermarkets to inspect the quality of produce on display, with much of the produce on shelves coming from the growers had visited during the previous few days.

Image gallery: 2018 Young Grower Leadership and Development Mission to NZ and USA

  • The group hears from Andrew Yung, New Zealand grower.
  • The group visited Woodhaven Gardens, a commercial NZ growing operation.
  • The vegetable washing line at Woodhaven Gardens, NZ.
  • Crated beetroot at Woodhaven Gardens, NZ.
  • Scott Lawson of Lawson's True Earth vegetables gives a history of the Hawke's Bay area.
  • Lawson's True Earth organic carrots ready for bagging in the packing shed.
  • Washing organic carrots at Lawson's True Earth, NZ.
  • On-farm windmill at Bayley Produce, NZ.
  • Plant and Food Research NZ spoke to the group about disease-suppressive soils.
  • The group hears from Wilcox and Sons in Pukekohe, NZ.
  • Wilcox and Sons takes the group through its boxed and bagged potato lines for retail sale.
  • Onion peeler at Wilcox and Sons, NZ.
  • Peeling station for Wilcox and Sons' pre-peeled product lines.
  • The group in the field looking at broccoli crops at Sutherland Produce in Pukekohe, NZ.
  • Silverbeet growing at Sutherland Produce, NZ.
  • A look at Sutherland Produce's vacuum cooling system for vegetables.
  • Packaged/sleeved silverbeet line at Sutherland Produce, NZ.
  • This code supports traceability for Sutherland Produce's packaged vegetable lines.
  • The group gets a closer look at Sutherland Produce's pre-packed lines.
  • A walk-through of the nursery facilities at Sutherland Produce, NZ.
  • Produce on display at a New Zealand farmers market.
  • The group hears from Toro about drip irrigation.
  • Bolthouse Farms in California took the group out in the field to look at its carrot production.
  • The group watches herb harvesting at Rio Farms, California.
  • The romaine lettuce harvest at Rio Farms, California.
  • Iceberg lettuce being harvested at Rio Farms, California.
  • Seedlings at king City Nursery, California.
  • A look at King City Nursery in California, USA.
  • The group hears about PlantTape at Tanimura and Antle, California.
  • PlantTape is an automated transplanting system sown directly from the tractor.
  • Cauliflowers being harvested and packed in the field at Tanimura and Antle, California.

Check out some photos from the group’s visits throughout the tour, including leading growing operations on New Zealand’s North Island and in California in the United States of America.

After a busy week in New Zealand, the group travelled to Los Angeles, where it was able to tour the facilities of Toro’s Riverside factory to look at the latest in drip irrigation technology, before making its way to Bakersfield to visit two of the world’s leading carrot producers, Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms.

After a day visiting farms in Bakersfield, the group travelled to Salinas, the Salad Bowl of America. While in Salinas, growers visited two major vegetable-growing operations, Rio Farms (as well as King City Nursery) and Tanimura and Antle. While at Tanimura and Antle, the group was fortunate enough to get a field demonstration of its PlantTape automated transplanting system. The group also received a presentation from the Western Growers Centre for Innovation and Technology on the ag-tech companies starting up in California that are working to combat the biggest issues facing growers in their region.

To round out the tour, the group also visited the Sacramento headquarters of leading agribusinesses Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science, where both companies provided the group with tours of their facilities and the opportunity to network with scientists to learn more about their products and the unique challenges facing growers in Australia.

More details on the tour will be detailed in an upcoming edition of Vegetables Australia, so keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks!

Image gallery: New Zealand vegetable retail

  • Bagged and boxed potatoes advertised on seasonality and tied to specific uses.
  • Bagged potato products in opaque packaging tied to uses or with health messaging.
  • Bagged garlic with use prompts.
  • Provenance story with local growers used for marketing.
  • Potatoes bagged by variety with use cases called out and photos of ideal product on opaque packaging.
  • Beans in transparent packaging with storage and use instructions and "five-a-day" callout.
  • Fresh produce section in a New Zealand supermarket.
  • Snack cucumber variety with use instructions and descriptions to help consumers understand new product.
  • Pre-peeled red onion bags with a meal occasion prompt.
  • Pick-and-mix tomato station taking advantage of colour and flavour differentiation.
  • "Five-a-day" call-out to remind consumers of dietary recommendations.
  • Vacuum-sealed sweetcorn in transparent packaging to communicate freshness.
  • Processed vegetable products with provenance in the product name and packaging that plays off the fresh state of the ingredients.
  • New capsicum varieties packaged to emphasise "sweet" product trait and create point of difference to standard varieties.
  • Heavy focus on opaque packaging allowing for more customised branding/messaging.

A snapshot of New Zealand vegetable retail and some of the produce lines being offered in-store in New Zealand supermarkets.