Newsroom

We acknowledge the resilience of our Tasman growers in the face of recent severe rain and flooding. While the most significant impacts have so far been contained to a few specific areas, there has been notable water damage to assets, including essential machinery and outbuildings. Overall, vine health is expected to recover in the short term however the situation continues to evolve with more rain forecast today. Although this event has not met the criteria for a formal industry emergency response management (ERM) activation, we’re in touch with the community behind the scenes, closely monitoring the situation, and will adjust our level of response if necessary – the industry’s priority is making sure every grower is supported.

Friday 4 July (tomorrow): KVH Director nominations close The KVH Board is calling for nominations for a grower director for a term of three years. Dermott Malley is retiring by rotation and seeking re-election this year. Nomination forms and more here. Wednesday 21 August: The KVH AGM All are welcome. Grower voting information will be emailed soon. Special guest Mike Inglis, Northern Commissioner at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will join us to speak about recent fruit fly responses. More here. Tuesday 15 – Wednesday 16 July: B3 conference This year’s Better Border Biosecurity (B3) conference brings the science and research community together to celebrate 20 years of collaboration - you can register here. KVH will be attending and we’ll share what we see and hear in a future Bulletin.

You’re invited to join NZKGI and KVH roadshows in all growing regions to hear about our latest priorities and activities. Hosted by Chief Executives Colin Bond (NZKGI) and Leanne Stewart (KVH), these presentations will cover various aspects - NZKGI will present on their Maturity Clearance and Commercial Incentives reviews as well as their upcoming Kiwifruit Industry Performance report. There will also be updates on water and labour. Likewise, KVH will provide an overview of our current priorities including the importance of being prepared for responses by having an on-orchard biosecurity plan in place, the latest emerging biosecurity threats, recent biosecurity innovation projects and the work we’ve been doing to prepare for other emergencies that impact the kiwifruit industry, such as cyclones and volcanic eruptions. We encourage you to join us, participate, and share your thoughts and ask questions. Look out for an email from NZKGI or KVH with details of the roadshow schedule, also available to view here so you can save the date now. For any questions, feel free to contact KVH at 0800 665 825.

We have a new Snapshot podcast online, where we chat with Andrew here at KVH about the wild kiwifruit control programme and how the industry is proactively looking for ways to slow the spread of seed from kiwifruit orchards into the wild. Fascinating new research into seed dispersal by mammals and birds has been completed and we talk about the study’s findings, and what you can do to help manage biosecurity risk. The Snapshot podcasts are free and available now on SoundCloud and Apple iTunes.

Last month, KVH joined the Allegrow team to share biosecurity insights and practical advice at workshops held for growers and farmers in the Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne regions. These sessions were part of a two-year Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)-funded programme aimed at helping orchard owners and land managers better understand a wide range of regulatory requirements related to climate, water, the environment, and biosecurity. The workshops were tailored to the specific needs of the regions and KVH shared the story of the Psa response and how it led to the establishment of the organisation and then the National Psa-V Pest Management Plan. The discussion also covered how this work has since expanded to support the broader biosecurity focus of the Pathway Management Plan, which aims to protect against the full range of biosecurity threats facing our industry. This underlined the importance of industry awareness, robust on-orchard biosecurity plans, and the early reporting of anything unusual. MPI’s regionally based On Farm Support team reinforced the value of preparedness by outlining the impacts and spread of Avian Influenza and reminded attendees of the ongoing TB containment work, Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was highlighted as an example of a biosecurity threat which would impact across the whole of New Zealand. These workshops give participants the chance to better understand the risks, and rewards, of being proactive in biosecurity - growers can register here for the July Allegrow field days which focus on hands-on pest plant control. Sessions will be held in Whakatane on Tuesday 15 July and Opotiki on Wednesday 16 July.

Image: Biosecurity round winner Aimee Barker-Gilbert (top); Contestants in the field (bottom left); KVH’s Linda Peacock and Kerry O’Neil hosting the biosecurity competition round (bottom right). This year, the eight Bay of Plenty Young Grower contestants put themselves squarely in the boots of a multi-tasking orchard manager to take on the challenge of this year’s biosecurity module. Competitors were not only quizzed on their knowledge of our industry’s most unwanted offshore risks but were also asked to show exactly how much they knew about on-orchard biosecurity risks and how to manage these. Scores were close, providing confidence that our young leaders all had a strong knowledge in this important space. Thanks to all the competitors for their energy and enthusiasm, and congratulations to our extreme multi-tasker and 2025 biosecurity module winner Aimee Barker-Gilbert from Hume Pack-N- Cool.