This episode featured as part of the Agronomy segment in partnership with PGG Wrightson.

Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Will Foley met with officials in Wellington to press for government funding to salvage the region’s vegetable-growing industry after McCain’s decision to close its Hastings operation.

“We met with a total of 13 different ministers and MPs yesterday across multiple parties, which was just so good to reach out to all of them,” he says.

The closure affects about 6,000ha of crops across Central Hawke’s Bay, the Hastings district and the Manawatu, grown by more than 100 growers who supply the Hastings factory. Three-quarters of that produce was exported through Napier Port to Australia.

Foley says the decision reaches well beyond one company.

“This is so much more than just a McCain’s issue and Veggro issue in Hawke’s Bay, it’s really all about New Zealand Food Inc. and national food security.”

The same macro pressures behind the McCain’s decision are hitting manufacturing businesses across the country, with energy security at the centre of it: the policy on gas, and the price of electricity, gas and diesel.

“The world changed with the most recent Middle East war.

“How do we rely on things arriving on ships to us to continue?”

The growers are prepared to invest in it themselves. The farm gate profit from their part of the value chain sits at about $11 million, and the industry spends about $10 million to establish the crops. Foley wants funding for a business case; what they need is confidence the wider venture will work, which is where the government support comes in.

“We are talking a couple of hundred, maybe 300k at the most.”

The timeframe is tight, as specialist harvesting equipment becomes worthless if there is no work for it.

“It’s probably only a six to eight week timeframe that we’ve got,” he says.

“For example, these harvesters have probably got a residual value of about 150K each.

“Now, if you started from scratch and you imported new ones from Europe, they’re $2 million each.”

The growers have also secured agreement from the primary production select committee for a departmental briefing into the factors behind the decision, including supermarket margins. Farmers know a bag of peas costs far less to produce and process than the $5 to $6 charged at the supermarket.

“Are they prepared to buy their peas that have come from China or Thailand or somewhere like that instead of locally grown in Hawke’s Bay?”

Foley says he needs an answer quickly.

“Because of the urgency, we sort of need to hear back within a week and get this underway.”

Make sure to contact PGG Wrightson to plan your crop and pasture requirements. You can find your local Technical Field Representative or store team here.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.