Te R\u016bnanga o Ng\u0101 Wairiki-Ng\u0101ti Apa t\u0101h\u016bh\u016b rangap\u016b\/group chief executive Grant Huwyler says the operation near Kaitoke is about more than fruit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a good example of learning and adaptation, building internal capability, creating employment and regional supply chains and moving toward sustainable cashflow at commercial scale,\u201d Huwyler said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut one of the things I love most is that this was unproductive land.\u201d<\/p>\n
The strawberry farm was launched with critical funding support from the Government\u2019s Provincial Growth Fund.<\/p>\n
It currently spans about 4ha of tunnel houses under hail canopy, with plans to expand to 6ha. Huwyler describes this as the \u201csweet spot\u201d for a sustainable, efficient berry business.<\/p>\n
The model uses fertigation systems and controlled growing environments to maximise fruit quality and yields.<\/p>\n
Site manager Carl Hodson, who also oversees the forestry portfolio, said the work never really stops.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven out of season we\u2019re still quite busy, prepping for the following season,\u201d Hodson told Local Democracy Reporting.<\/p>\n
The season runs from October through to May or June, but preparation for the next season begins pretty much without a break.<\/p>\n
Each May and June, new plants are manually planted \u2013 200,000 by hand this season, up from 160,000 last year.<\/p>\n
Next season, Hodson\u2019s planning for up to 360,000 plants.<\/p>\n
The berries are grown in 40 tunnel houses raised on sandy, wind-raked ground, each containing 800 growing bags.<\/p>\n
Most of the crop has traditionally been the Monterrey variety, but the iwi are now trialling the 1160 and Victory varieties as they continue refining their approach.<\/p>\n
Four permanent staff manage the site year-round, with numbers swelling to as many as 24 during the peak picking and packing season.<\/p>\n
Sustainability is also part of the model. Harakeke Berries works with M\u0101ori-owned Rivercity Tree Services to process organic waste from used strawberry growing bags.<\/p>\n
The bags, made up of 70% coconut husk and 30% chip, remain nutrient-dense even after a season of fruiting. Instead of being discarded, the material is repurposed, closing the loop and reinforcing the iwi commitment to responsible land use.<\/p>\n
Harakeke Berries supplies national distributor Turners & Growers, while also building local relationships \u2013 including exclusive supply to New World Marton and product into Pak\u2019nSave.<\/p>\n
Excess fruit and \u201cseconds\u201d are occasionally snapped up at the farm gate by eager locals, with a single social media post often enough to see trays of berries sell out within hours.<\/p>\n
Four permanent staff manage the site year-round, with numbers lifting to as many as 24 during the peak picking and packing season. Photo \/ Moana Ellis<\/p>\n
While the strawberries are now trending toward profitability, a key decision remains on whether to complete the final 2ha needed to reach full commercial scale.<\/p>\n
Beyond revenue, the operation has become a training ground. Skilled operators have been developed internally, with iwi members stepping into management and commercial roles.<\/p>\n
Huwyler said that capability-building \u2013 alongside cash flow \u2013 is part of the long-term return on investment, with the guiding principle being patience and adaptability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe philosophy has been to start small and learn. Production figures are an indication of the learning,\u201d Huwyler said.<\/p>\n
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Te R\u016bnanga o Ng\u0101 Wairiki-Ng\u0101ti Apa t\u0101h\u016bh\u016b rangap\u016b\/group chief executive Grant Huwyler says the operation near Kaitoke is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311518,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[33846,8831,9218,52123,8593,138,78694,169497,46038,35023,169498,169499,33443,2944,98618,5511,225,2683,3180,111,139,69,14727,101355,15412,69534,16800,223,2742,1883],"class_list":{"0":"post-311517","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-along","9":"tag-an","10":"tag-before","11":"tag-belt","12":"tag-berry","13":"tag-business","14":"tag-conveyor","15":"tag-cooled","16":"tag-enterprise","17":"tag-fastgrowing","18":"tag-fragrant","19":"tag-handpacking","20":"tag-heading","21":"tag-inside","22":"tag-iwis","23":"tag-just","24":"tag-market","25":"tag-move","26":"tag-near","27":"tag-new-zealand","28":"tag-newzealand","29":"tag-nz","30":"tag-outside","31":"tag-packhouse","32":"tag-spot","33":"tag-strawberries","34":"tag-sweet","35":"tag-the","36":"tag-thousands","37":"tag-whanganui"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}