Auckland: Monty Spencer
I first established a kiwifruit orchard in 1977 on a bare block of land in Katikati and still own a small part of this block. In the 1980’s I worked as an operations manager over the wider Bay of Plenty for a company developing larger orchards. In 2000 I bought land at Ardmore, South Auckland where I developed a kiwifruit orchard.
I have just retired working over the last 22 years for a large commercial grower in Pukekohe, primarily growers of potatoes, carrots & onions, first as an agronomist then as Potato Crop Manager, more latterly as Carrot Crop Manager.
I have a particular interest in Research & Development; new varieties & then maximizing their potential into the future. I think Zespri has made an excellent effort on the latter; there could be some improvement on the development of new varieties.