Northland news in brief

Northland's $40 million kiwifruit crop is ready for harvest. Photo / File

Bumper kiwifruit crop expected

The 2019 kiwifruit harvest has officially kicked off with up to $40 million worth of the fruit - both gold and green varieties - expected to be picked in Northland. New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated (NZKGI) Chief Executive Officer Nikki Johnson said Poverty Bay leads the charge because the crop matures more quickly there than the rest of the country. "Over March, orchards in the Bay of Plenty, Northland, Counties-Manukau, Waikato, Hawke's Bay, the lower North Island and Tasman will follow suit – it's going to be a bumper crop." The first run of kiwifruit is predominantly the gold variety, with the green kiwifruit harvest coming into full force in late March. The last fruit is picked in June.

Apprentice Challenge

NZ Certified Builders (NZCB) wants Northland carpentry apprentices to enter and demonstrate their skills in the 2019 NZCB Apprentice Challenge. The competition will be held in 18 regions across the country on April 6, and is open to apprentices employed by current NZCB builders or enrolled with Industry Training Association Building (ITAB).
Prizes will be awarded to first, second and third place-getters, and the regional winner will progress to the national final held in Christchurch in June, where they will compete for the Ken Read Memorial Trophy and $50,000 worth of prizes. Apprentices can enter by visiting https://apprenticechallenge.nz/how-to-get-involved/ . Entries must be received by March 25.

Northcal pipe band conert

The only Northland pipe band Northcal will be putting on a concert at the Coronation Hall Waipū on March 23 to showcase their talents as they head to Dunedin for the New Zealand Championships. It promises to be a brilliant night of Celtic music. Door sale tickets are $10 and children under 12 are free. Doors open at 6.45pm for a 7pm start.

One down: mistake; three across: we're sorry

Two of the clues in the quick crossword in yesterday's Northern Advocate had the wrong number of spaces to put in the answers. Clue 10 across was Yellow-brown colour (3) but the puzzle had five letters for the answer. Then on 20 across the clue was Type of carp (3) but again the answer space has 5 letters. This was a mistake by The Puzzle Company, which provides the puzzles to the paper. The correct three-letter answers are in today's edition on page 45.