A conversation with Richard Glenn of Glenview Orchard, south of Hamilton, reveals a lifetime of knowledge cultivated over nearly 46 years in kiwifruit.
Richard’s connection to the industry began in 1979, when a hectare of Hayward was planted on a family property.
“I worked with sheep and beef after high school but that wasn’t for me long term,” he explains. “We knew kiwifruit could grow in the Waikato and I gained hands-on experience working in Bay of Plenty orchards as we gradually expanded our Hayward plantings.”
With Hayward exports well established as one facet of their business, Richard and wife Robyn started planting apples, mainly Braeburn and Royal Gala, for local and export markets.
“That was from the mid-1980s to the mid-2010s. At the peak we had around 30 ha of apples with our own orchards and lease blocks, with just 2 ha of Hayward still in. We could grow apples successfully, but we’d learned the area was probably better for kiwifruit. The returns per hectare were better for kiwifruit, whereas the apples really only broke even.”
With the release of Gold 16A in 2000, Richard reassessed the direction of the orchard. He felt the combination of Zespri’s single-desk export model and PVR controlled varieties offered greater economic stability. They began replacing apples with kiwifruit, replanting Hayward and 16A, and later the new Gold G3 variety as it became available.
“The Psa outbreak in 2010 was a near disaster for many. We maintained very strict hygiene here and were one of the last orchards in Waikato to get it. We’re strong supporters of Zespri’s breeding programme over the past 25+ years. It’s not just luck that there were varieties like G3 which are highly tolerant to Psa. We were also one of the earlier growers to put in the red variety when it became available – more varieties spread risk and it’s picked earlier, spreading income.”
Never shy of trying new things, Richard has also tried different rootstocks and says G3 on Bounty rootstock flowers earlier for them than the more commonly used rootstock, spreading workload at peak times.
Succession planning has been a key focus for Richard and Robyn. Their daughter Megan has pursued her own career, while their son Matthew is now their Orchard Manager.
“With a degree in earth science and a diploma in business management, Matt’s worked for Eastpak, did his OE and now makes the day-to-day decisions here. He’s brought fresh approaches to irrigation which has increased yield and lessened the possible risk of frost damage by installing a diesel generator for part of our otherwise electric powered irrigation and frost fighting system. He does a lot of analysis to improve profitability, and we’ve designed an intergenerational succession structure that rewards him over time for his efforts.
He’s also been instrumental in planting 1 ha of males for pollen production and establishing a business applying pollen for our own and other orchards.”
This has allowed Richard to step into more of a strategic role but he’s always happy to help with spraying and other tasks during busy periods like harvest. Robyn is the driving force behind the revegetation of a 4 ha native area of the orchard and is seeing improvements to the water quality of a peat lake through a project she’s working on with the lake’s joint owners, neighbours Jim and Mary Grayling.
“Highly regarded kiwifruit grower Robbie Ellison said to me one day that there is no single thing that gives a good orchard result, it’s many smaller things done well. Things like building up our irrigation and frost fighting system over the years so we can collect runoff water into two dams, backed by bore supply. We’re careful not to overuse water with sensors at different points in the orchard turning on water as it’s needed for that block to mitigate frost.”
With eight seasons of experience growing red kiwifruit, Richard says they’re still learning. One key lesson: avoid overcropping young vines.
“Timing is everything, especially with flower thinning. At the peak, we need up to 35 people out working in those blocks. It’s an ongoing challenge to increase fruit size, we’re working on that and also doing well with fruit quality, averaging over 90 percent pack-out across our three red blocks with one block achieving 96 per cent.”
Richard also credits their Fruitfed Supplies Technical Horticultural Representative, Grant Robinson, for supporting their success. “We’re fortunate to have someone with Grant’s experience and knowledge from his own orchard. He knows what we go through. He’ll refer to the Fruitfed Technical team and come back with answers whenever we need and it’s a huge time saver that he delivers ag-chem products too.”
Looking ahead, Richard knows the importance of adapting to changing weather conditions.
With this season’s drought affecting many primary sector operations, Richard underlines the necessity of mitigating risk. “We measure soil moisture content and evaporation, and water vines when they need it most. This year’s harvest is looking good.”
