Asparagus explained

“You would just drive past and not know there was anything going on in the ground until you get up this close,” says owner Iris Raikes.  “It’s incredible that the little spears we saw sticking out and harvested that morning will be in Japan the next night.  There’s a lot to this business.”

Owners in the five adjoining blocks (four administered by Māori Trustee and one privately held) have leased their land to Tendertips and wanted to see exactly how their land would be used and looked after.

Geoff Lewis, one of two owners in Tendertips and the Managing Director, gave the owners hands on experience of everything from what’s under the ground to how a perfect Japanese bunch is put together.  “It was just great to have the owners come here to meet the staff and see exactly what we do and to understand what will happen with their land in terms of planting, spraying and harvesting,” he says.

“Asparagus is not your usual crop – it has a 14 year life cycle and at the end, the land will be rested by being put back into grazing.  There is a lot of upfront work, we won’t get to full harvesting until 2016 on these blocks and then by 2025 the crop will be finished.  Then the land has to be rotated, so part of our job is to make sure it’s set up so owners can use the fertility asparagus growing brings when the crop is finished. 

Right now the five blocks are used for dairy support but, says Geoff, are ideal for asparagus.  “Asparagus loves the sandy soil on these blocks as it hates being wet, and to keep things completely fresh we need to harvest close to the packhouse.”  Geoff says that over two years about 40 hectares of the total 60 hectares will be planted in asparagus, with the hillier bits staying in grazing.  “That means that we’ll be planting about 100 kilometres of asparagus next year and the same the following year - it’s too much of a big job to do in one season.”

For Iris, as well as seeing the asparagus business up close, the field day was a chance to find out more about her whenua and the people who will be leasing it.  “Our Dad only passed away a couple of years ago and I knew nothing about the land, so I take every chance I can to learn.  One of the things I really appreciated on this visit was meeting the actual person who will be using our land and finding out about his whānau and what he does in the community as well as in the business.

“Geoff has been really open with us and told us everything we wanted to know from what varieties he would be planting, to who his customers in Japan are, what he expects to harvest over the 14 years, and how he makes sure the seasonal workers from Samoa are looked after.”

Māori Trustee Land Development Consultant Anne-Marie Broughton says it is important that owners fully understand the business as they are entering a long term relationship that affects the community as well.  “Many of the owners live near here and one of their aims is to support employment for the local community through this venture.  I’m pleased that so many owners turned out to take a close look at what they will be involved with.”