Peach of job - except for thinning

Johnny Byrne does virtually all the work on the 11.2ha Hawke's Bay orchard he and partner Vicki Small own - except fruit thinning and harvesting.
"I hate fruit thinning - it's so monotonous it does your head in," said Johnny. "Growers know their targets but don't necessarily make the best thinners."
Wisely, he leaves fruit thinning to others while he takes care of planning, pruning, spraying, mowing, fertilising, feeding and general management, as well as working on contract for other growers. Vicki works off the property, teaching at Hastings Girls' High School.
Johnny helps out at harvest if necessary, working alongside teams of casual workers but he'd rather leave that job to them too. The last 10 minutes of a peach's life on the orchard are the most important, so it is critical to ensure the process is managed as well as possible.
Vicki and Johnny bought their original 6ha peach orchard in partnership with a friend, Richard, 11 years ago, hence JVR Orchards was formed. However, today they are the sole owners of that land plus an additional adjoining 5.26ha, planted in Tatura star peaches solely for processing through Heinz Wattie's.
"We really liked this property because of its character and location, close to Napier and Hastings" said Johnny.
However, the orchard was in need of work with its golden queen peaches failing to perform to potential. Johnny applied his pruning and management skills and got the trees in shape but their days are probably numbered.
"Tatura Star is a much better variety, especially for Wattie's," said Johnny, who hopes to produce up to 300 tonnes of peaches from 3800 Tatura star and golden queen trees within a few years.
The golden-fleshed Tatura star was introduced to New Zealand as a processing peach, but is also great eaten fresh.
Trees produce a large peach with yellow skin and a small stone and it copes well with picking and storage.
Bruce Mackay, Wattie's senior fruit crop supply agronomist in Hastings, has worked closely with Johnny in developing the orchard, including plans to plant more of the Tatura variety, a fact the grower appreciates.
"It's great to have Bruce's input and support. Probably the most valuable thing I've done is to visit the Wattie's canning factory and see the process first-hand. It gave me a real understanding of things from their end and just how important fruit quality is.
"As growers, we'd always like more money for our fruit and, hopefully, that will happen in future, but selling for processing is far better than selling on the local market."
A guaranteed income (provided the crop is up to standard) and immediate payment once the fruit is delivered to Wattie's gives the confidence to continue in the business.
Johnny, who worked on orchards while at school, did a horticultural course at Flock House before a kiwifruit orcharding cadetship at Te Puke. He returned to Hawke's Bay and worked for growers. "I was lucky to work with a number of owners who worked alongside me."
He and Vicki have made a significant investment in the orchard and face the same risks as other growers - weather, frosts in particular, pests and disease.
However, with neighbours who graze horses, Johnny is conscious of concerns about sprays so uses as few as possible and keeps neighbours informed when he does.
"We use hardly any pesticides now and I've noticed a big increase in beneficial insects, including ladybirds, which help control aphids," he said.
"In the next three to five years, our goal is to get 400 tonnes of fruit, get JVR Orchards' name on Wattie's Cup for the best grower, then maybe take a back seat for a year or two."
Bruce said Johnny was the type of grower Wattie's wanted to work with.
"It was a big step for him to invest so heavily in a block of peaches solely for processing, but Johnny could see the benefits and the risks in what he planned to do and we supported him in that," said Bruce.
Wattie's had contracted out its field work with growers in the 1980s in order to reduce costs at a time when it faced increased competition from cheaper imports. However, in 2007 the focus changed to one of developing stronger relationships with individual growers.
"Now we treat them as individuals and focus more on our larger growers like Johnny."