Meet the young talent working to grow NZ's primary industries

“I didn’t grow up in the horticulture industry. Most people in the industry are those taking over their family farm. My only real exposure was my grandparent’s veggie garden.”

Despite this humble introduction to the skills of the primary sector, Megan Fox found interest at school in both plants and biology, going on to study them at university. Post-graduation, she was quickly snapped up by Southern Cross Horticulture, starting only two years ago as an orchard trainee. Today she is a technical advisor and orchard manager and her ideas on how New Zealand can prepare for the future have seen her recognised with awards.

The Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower of the Year competition is an annual event intended to draw out and promote talent within our country’s essential horticulture industry. ASB has been a silver sponsor of the competition for four years, the only bank to sponsor. As part of the sponsorship ASB host the Innovation Award, where contestants must come up with an idea, which could be a concept, device or method, that will innovate and disrupt their industry.

Megan won the award thanks to her ideas on how New Zealand can prepare for a world without glyphosate. Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. Having just been to Europe as part of the Executive International Horticulture Immersion Programme, where various industry leaders visit the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany for two weeks to better understand the future of horticulture, Megan was well placed to offer her thoughts.

“I knew what a hot topic that was over there. Luxembourg has banned the use of glyphosate and France and Belgium will follow suit by 2021. The Netherlands and New Zealand are predicted to follow closely after that. This is something that we need to be preparing for, being proactive, because it’s going to happen.”

“This hot topic is completely driven by society, with technology changing the consumer wants to know more about what they are eating, where it has come from and, what happened to it.
So, we need to come up with an idea that is competitive with current products and doesn’t promote cheap substitutes with stronger chemistry.”

Megan’s solution was a combination of jute fibre discs and companion planting. The fibres of the weed mat allow for the movement and exchange of air flow, with good porosity and water permeability. Meanwhile, the complementary plants serve to amplify soil biology and nutrient availability whilst naturally defending off pests.

“Planting: Buckwheat, which is a calcium mobiliser. Radishes Clover or any legume to improve nitrogen levels. Calendula flowers and chrysanthemums provide natural forms of pest repellent. Put them all together in homeostasis. If you let those companion plants go to seed, eventually they’ll build up enough of a progeny that they continue to self-seed.”

The Young Growers Competition is made up of 8 contestants from the industry (under 30) these industry representatives compete in a mix of both practical and theoretical questions. Everything from orchard profitability to how to drive a tractor to your knowledge of sprays and fertilisers – all of which contestants should have exposure to as a member of the industry. Megan signed up for the opportunity to meet likeminded people, push herself and learn a range of new skills.

“Sometimes we can all get stuck in our own little bubbles. It’s not just about Kiwifruit. Something like this competition pushes me out of my comfort zone as I learn about different crops, for example, citrus, apples, avocados, native nurseries and grapes. It’s an opportunity for representatives of these primary sectors to come together and show off the cool and interesting things they’re doing with growing techniques that we might not have ever occurred to us. Let’s share the knowledge and collaborate.”