New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last week walked around LeaderBrand's Future Farm Facility and checked out their self-sustaining 40 million liter water dam and one million liter treated water tank before chatting to their team inside the greenhouse.
With a little guidance from LeaderBrand's Greenhouse Manager Billy Stackhouse, the Prime Minister took the new electric harvester for a spin. Billy said that the Prime Minister was a natural.
"The team appreciated him giving them a helping hand. If he needs a break from running the country, he's welcome to visit any time and jump on a tractor. The team wouldn't hesitate to give him a job! We even sent him home with a bag or two of our spinach and wild rocket for dinner," laughs Billy.
LeaderBrand's Future Farm Facility was built thanks to the support from the governments, Kānoa, Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, when they loaned them, $15 million to help fund our ambitious construction.
Gordon McPhail, LeaderBrand's General Manager of Farming says that with the government's support for regional economies projects like the greenhouse were possible: "We would never have been able to build such an ambitious project like this without the government's support. They challenged us to think about what innovation or technology we could invest in if we had the funds that would be good for the region economically and help generate growth and more jobs. Our Future Farms Facility enables us to accelerate crop growth all year round in a more sustainable manner. Being able to mitigate weather impacts means we can find more efficient ways to continue to supply New Zealanders with healthy and affordable fresh vegetables."
"We still have a lot to learn about indoor growing and maintaining crops in this new environment, however, we do not doubt that agricultural practices are going to have to adapt to the county's increasingly variable climate, technology, and environmental demands, and that this type of facility is the future of farming."
For more information:
LeaderBrand
leaderbrand.co.nz