One of the country's leading commercial growers predicts that in the future more high-value vegetables will be grown under cover.
Richard Burke, who until recently was chief executive of LeaderBrand, says given the unpredictable nature of weather, and lower returns, growers simply can't afford to lose a crop.
This is one of the reasons LeaderBrand invested in a 10.7-ha greenhouse operation at their site near Gisborne. Here a range of vegetables, mainly salad crops, are grown under cover as part of a plan to improve the number of crops that can be produced annually and to protect them from adverse weather.
The LeaderBrand operation is unique and Burke admits the company is still learning about how to run this operation to maintain maximum efficiency. Earlier this year the company began using a new electric harvester machine and self-propelled cargo platforms to operate in its new mega greenhouse in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint.
Read more at Horti News.