Challenges remain in Pukekohe

Being elected as the president of the Pukekohe Vegetable Growers’ Association (PVGA) earlier in the year was an especially memorable occasion for Simon Wilcox.

Attending the organisation’s Annual General Meeting were his grandfather, Alan, who turned 100 last September, and his father, Garth. Both are life members of the PVGA and have represented Pukekohe growers at a national level in the past. 

“It was pretty special,” he says. 

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without them, and they should be recognised for their service to the industry.” 

And while the older Wilcoxes generally don’t give him advice, “they’ll tell me if I’m on the wrong track”. 

Simon, who is in his mid-40s, was very much born into growing, as a third-generation grower. Alan grew vegetables with his brother Graham before he went dairy farming, then with his sons Garth and Rob (who died in 2013), trading as Wilcox Brothers. Simon went to Lincoln University to gain a Diploma in Horticultural Management, working in the third practical year for a Prebbleton grower as well as a packhouse in Hornby. 

“That really opened my eyes more to arable production,” he says. 

He returned home and joined his father, Garth, to form Pinnacle Growers. They cropped around 120 hectares at Bombay with balanced areas of new season potatoes, onions for both the domestic and export market, as well as crown pumpkin and butternut pumpkin. 

“We had quite a presence in the market due to branding with stickers of both pumpkins and butternuts,” he says. 

“Consumers really started recognising our Pinnacle brand.” 

But trialling small pumpkins called pumpkinos they struggled to establish this new product and any further work was halted. After a few more years they could clearly see that the scale of their business meant it wasn’t sustainable, so they made the hard decision to close it down. 

They had existing relationships with A S Wilcox, the company that handled their new season potatoes and export onions, and Simon found work there as potato crop supervisor in charge of field operations and technical issues. 

“I was coached by Monty Spencer and that developed my skill set,” he says. 

“The planning was a lot more detailed than I was used to, with a 52-week sales programme. And I was exposed to more technical elements of growing with for example, agronomists visiting from the United Kingdom.” 

In 2011 Simon became production manager for Pukekohe, taking the lead in carrots, onions, potatoes and other rotational crops, overseeing 12 full-time workers with numbers increasing almost to 30 in the summer harvesting period. With a number of nationalities represented he says the cultural mix left him with a better understanding of people.

Five years later he became operations manager - growing, supporting the company in the areas of people, land, processes and equipment. Then in September last year he became general manager of operations, moving more into the post-harvest area, quality and food safety, assets, engineering and transport. Again, it was a steep learning curve stepping up to manage 150 workers, understanding more about people and their behaviour as well as alignment to business goals and objectives.

“There were challenges during Covid-19, but our people were amazing coming together to deliver fresh food to New Zealanders,” he says. 

“They really went above and beyond.” 

And that extended to some staff who, because of medical condition or age, were not required to be essential workers. 

“They were still fighting to come to work.” 

Those difficult days brought about some positive changes in company processes, particularly in the use of technology.  

“We found that with better communication we didn’t need so many face-to-face meetings,” Simon says. 

 And he’s “immensely proud” of recent innovations such as the introduction of the Beta Bites snacking carrots, putting snack-sized vegetables firmly in front of children. Simon is married to Steph and they have two children, Hamish (10) and Emily (8), who happily choose these vegetable options rather than lollies when they’re offered. 

Simon joined the PVGA in 2002, seeing it as a great opportunity to meet other growers, understand their issues and to work with different people. 

“All my life I’d seen that through the involvement of my grandfather and father,” he says. 

“It’s more about giving than taking and making growing a better industry. Most people view it that way and it’s a common theme for the Wilcox family.” 

Asked about the greatest change he’s seen during the time of his involvement he says that when he first joined, discussions often were to do with pricing and market conditions. 

“Now the conversations are all around the environmental and sustainability,” he says. 

“In those days we didn’t even know what that meant. But practices such as silt mitigation are second nature now.” 

Simon was a board member of LandWISE for ten years, and says its small annual conference never fails to get him thinking about all the potential ways there are to adopt a smarter growing operation. But over that time he says the legislative and regulatory changes around the right to farm have been at the forefront of PVGA discussions. 

“It’s been very challenging on-farm trying to see the future and how growing systems have to adapt.”  

But he’s adamant that growers have got to be proud of what they have achieved with little in the way of resources. 

“They’ve been exceptional, but it’s frustrating that we have to keep doing it. And future challenges haven’t gone away with the new coalition government.  

He believes a more enabling model is needed which drives investment, science and technology allowing the industry to grow in a more efficient way. 

“We need to be able to produce more from less, but without all the regulation.” 

While he says the government has shown it is intent on a direction to support the rural sector, there are grower concerns around timing and future changes. 

“It’s critical to form a relationship and understanding.” 

And for Pukekohe growers getting a framework for that to happen between the government, Auckland Council and Waikato Regional Council is key. 

“It’s a case of wait and see.” 

One win for the PVGA has been the removal of the Auckland regional fuel tax. “It wasn’t chump change,” he says. 

“It added to growers’ cost structures so there was a bit of a celebration at the on-farm level when that went.” 

But the PVGA is keeping a watching brief on signalled land use classification changes as well as the future of elite soils. Simon is quickly coming up to speed on the Integrated Catchment Management Plan (ICMP) where Pukekohe growers are represented by immediate past president Kirit Makan, and by Bharat Jivan and Brendan Balle. 

Then there are the wider issues of water, climate and access to markets where he believes a more holistic approach should be taken. 

“Sometimes the vegetable sector doesn’t get the recognition of the export opportunities there could be,” he says. 

And another area where opportunities abound is for youngsters looking at a career in horticulture. He pays tribute to Pukekohe High School’s head of horticulture, Dave Matthews, who spearheaded setting up a gateway programme which enabled two students to compete in the Young Vegetable Grower of the Year Competition this year. 

“There are vast and diverse opportunities in horticulture,” he says. 

“With energy and enthusiasm, you can do anything.” 

 

Article first published in the September issue of NZGrower & Orchardist