Responding to Cyclone Gabrielle
Industry Perpectives
Our group of four Hawke’s Bay industry representatives will discuss the impacts on the vegetables and fruit sectors and the various ways people have responded. How did people react, what were the urgent priorities, and how are people trying to remediate impacted sites? Far too soon to look back at the event that was, this is an update on the event that still “is”. For many there are some long rows ahead, but there is increasing evidence that things can be brought under control.
Brittany McCloy
Brittany is Labour Strategy and Solutions Manager at Apatu Farms and Ex Onions New Zealand. Since Cyclone Gabrielle has been working for the Hawke’s Bay Vegetable Growers’ Association at the centre of the industry response, working on behalf of vegetable growers to collate information and represent the vegetable grower voice in response initiatives and design.
Dereck Ferguson
Dereck Ferguson is an agronomy consultant in Hawkes Bay. Formerly the Agronomy Manager for Brownrigg Agriculture, he has over 20 years experience managing horticultural and forage crop programmes. Dereck is a member of the Vegetable Research and Innovation Board and holds several technical roles on research projects.
Sarah de Buin
Sarah is a horticultural consultant with AgFirst Hawkes’s Bay involved in various industry intelligence projects such as the National Pipfruit Crop Estimate, Pipfruit Farm monitoring, and the What’s Coming out of Tile Drains project. She enjoys using meaningful data, to assist those at all levels of the industry with making educated decisions and driving industry change and success.
Richard Pentreath
Regional Manager at Ngai Tukairangi Trust, Richard is an experienced viticulturist and kiwifruit orchardist. Having experienced first-hand some of the devastation brought by the cyclone, he is well placed to discuss the impacts and how growers are responding.
Soil Recovery
Soil recovery – lessons from the past, lesson for the future
LandWISE Project Manager, Alex Dickson will outline some of the resources pulled together to help growers make first decisions about dealing with sediment and establishing living plants. A consortium including LandWISE, AgResearch, Massey University, Plant & Food, regional councils and consultants in Hawke’s Bay, Tairawhiti and Northland has formed to collect sediment and soil samples for nutrient and contaminant testing. Additional soil sampling and data collection seeks understanding of the new sediments, and to allow a longer-term study of soil and site recovery following a range of management responses.