After six years at KVH this is my last week - and final Bulletin - as I leave the industry to now focus on my orchard and governance roles.

I joined the team in 2012 when the industry was still coming to grips with Psa and not yet seeing a very clear pathway ahead to recovery. Looking back at my first Bulletin reminds me how far we’ve all come - it related to Psa only and we were talking about developing pamphlets and videos to promote the need for hygiene practices; the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had just revoked movement restrictions in Te Puke; and we had a big project underway to start capturing Psa research ideas.

During my six years I have been really impressed with the leadership in the industry, able to tackle the big and difficult issues while focussing on what is best for growers.

My thanks go out to all growers, postharvest, and Zespri for the support and commitment over the years. It has been a pleasure working with you all as we’ve overcome some huge challenges faced by our industry.

Many thanks to past and present members of the KVH team too. Bulletin readers will know the team well and see them often – they’re a committed group of people and I have absolute confidence in the organisation going forward (with Stu Hutchings at the helm) being a necessary protector for our fantastic industry.