Conference warned over horticulture

Press, 24 June 1983, Page 10

Conference warned over horticulture

The popular belief that great fortunes can easily be made by delving into horticulture was well and truly buried at the Ruakura Farmers’ Conference.

A Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries horticultural adviser, Mr Peter Lyford kicked off the horticulture session with some sobering examples of situations he had come across in the Bay of Plenty. Mr Lyford used a series of “laws” he had developed to illustrate his points.

“Law number one is that there is nothing new under the sun,” he said. “I still hear people saying that the apple variety Gala is a new variety, yet it was first

released in 1948. “The lesson here is that many people new to horticulture think it is horticulture that is new, and they avoid doing the necessary homework and planning.” Law number two was that jobs generally took longer, costs were higher, and returns were less than anticipated.

This was reflected in late ; planting of shelter trees or irrigation not being ready until February when it was needed in November, Mr Lyford said.

“I know one case where irrigation was held up two months because no-one told the power board in time.

“It is also common practice to overestimate future income and underestimate future costs. How many people realise that a kiwifruit orchard development at present costs does not break even until year 13?

“I see many people who

believe they will be rich at year six.” Mr Lyford said his third law was that in order to get a loan you must first prove you don’t need it. “This is a well known banking axiom. Until very recently most financiers did not believe horticulture could provide a sound investment.

“But today we are looking more confidently into the future, where export receipts from horticulture will go from 3 per cent of total agricultural exports in 1980 to at least 12 per cent in 1990. Kiwifruit and apples are playing the largest role in this increase,” Mr Lyford said.

Most horticulture ventures were long-term projects and the financial system was not suited to these enterprises. “In the early years of development there are many Bay of Plenty orchards where interest charges are 50 per cent of total annual cash expenditure. This can be over ?2000 per ha with no ‘on-farm’ income.

“On mature orchards it is important to note that total overheads amount to 45 per cent of total costs. This is often overlooked by new growers,” Mr Lyford said.

Law number four was that top orchards were four times as productive as the

average holding. Mr Lyford used the examples of apples and kiwifruit to illustrate the variation that could occur in productivity of different orchards. “In the case of apples there is three to four-fold difference between the average and best yields.

“The New Zealand average total yield (70 per cent export) is 46 tonnes per ha. The Hawke’s Bay average is somewhat higher at 67 tonnes, and the record for that district is 180 tonnes. At the other end of the scale the lowest New Zealand production recorded is 21 tonnes per ha.”