News and Insights

The industry is moving fast, and so are we. We’re keen to share what’s new and noteworthy – news stories, staff news and other event related information you might find useful.

Frost Protection in Kiwifruit

Enhancing Lives - Tauranga Boys College Orchard

Yellow Tree

Orchard Operations

It’s been a hectic period for our cropping orchards over November

Farewell to teams

With some of our RSE teams contracts finishing, it’s time we say goodbye and thanks to those who have helped some of those that have helped us achieve world class outcomes

Boosting Kiwifruit Exports: New Zealand and EU Forge Free Trade Agreement

In a significant development for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, the nation has entered into a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU).

Pollination

During spring when the flowers begin to open, the bees and orchard managers are working hard to ensure a successful pollination in the orchards

Talent Development

At SCH, we value our staff, and invest in personal and talent development

The season of new beginnings

Spring is a season of rebirth and renewal, and nowhere is this more evident than in kiwifruit orchards around the world

The beginning of thinning

Now that the buds on the orchard have pushed out shoots and leaves, we get to project our crop loads and targets

Community impacts

At SCH, we are constantly looking to support our team and the wider community which includes sponsoring overseas nations

Northern hemisphere to supply for the lack of fruit

After a season like the southern hemisphere kiwifruit industry had with severe frosts, cyclones, severe rain events, low sunlight hours, and poor pollination, the northern hemisphere is making up for Zespri’s 12-month supply

Bud Protection Season

Our kiwifruit vines are pushing out new buds. Because of this, it is an important season for orchards to be protected from nature such as birds, snails, and frost

SCH Partners with Local Schools

Southern Cross Horticulture has a huge community focus. With this in mind we are sharing our knowledge and taking our skills to schools within the community

Zespri's Support for Young Kiwis

The Zespri Aims Games, held annually in New Zealand, is the largest multi-sport event for intermediate-aged athletes in the Southern Hemisphere

Starting the 2024 season

In the orchard over the next few months, we plan to start setting up our canopy in both establishment and cropping blocks to produce for the 2023/24 season. This is an important time of the year as it lays the foundations for yields and quality for the next year.

Current Industry

The 2022/23 season was one to remember for growers around the country with what has been described as the worst season on record to grow kiwifruit. This included a combination of severe rain events, low sunlight hours for photosynthesis, poor pollination, low floral activity due to a warm winter, hail events, and many more.

Nurturing the Future: The New Zealand Young Grower of the Year Competition

Every year, the picturesque landscapes of New Zealand witness a celebration of passion, innovation, and dedication in the form of the Young Grower of the Year competition.

Hawkes Bay Clean Up

Cyclone Gabrielle hit the Hawkes Bay on the 14 Feb, flooding a massive portion of the fruit producing areas as well as displacing many people from their homes.

Harvest 2023

Harvest season is in full swing at Southern Cross Horticulture, and so far ~80% of our orchards have been picked. SCH currently employ 100 SLU (Seasonal Labour Unit) pickers to ensure a quality and efficient harvest.

SCH Business Units

Our mission is to Create and Manage World Class orchards… along with much more!

Filipinos Enhancing Lives in the Philippines

As some of us know, quite a few of our Construction team members are from the Philippines. Finally, they could fly back home after the pandemic to visit their families.

New GAP Shelter Requirements

Shelter is an important aspect of kiwifruit orchard management in New Zealand. It helps protect crops from wind damage, reduces the risk of defoliation...

Summer planting

The sun has finally decided to show itself in the Bay of Plenty and Southern Cross Horticulture is using every hour to complete outstanding summer planting projects

Creating and managing world class orchards and being world famous

Jan and Garth from Oaklands are continuing to make a name for themselves and SCH in the Auckland growing region.

SCH Repairs & Maintenance Team

We are proud to introduce the new Repairs and Maintenance (R&M) team, led by Grant Bradley, who are focused on maintaining and fixing all things orchard and general infrastructure related.

Surfing For Farmers

Southern Cross Horticulture is a proud sponsor of the Ohope Beach region of Surfing for Farmers. This initiative was set up to provide farmers (including orchardists!) with an excuse to get off farm, learn a new skill and socialise with other like-minded people.

Pollen Harvesting

Pollen harvesting is coming to an end for the 2022 season. At SCH we’ve currently harvested around 420kgs of flowers, which is equivalent to approximately 4.20kg of pollen.

SCH Awards

We had a fun, happy and beautiful afternoon on September 23rd when we celebrated our first SCH awards!

Enhancing Edgecumbe College

SCH’s Sarah Davidson has teams up with Edgecumbe College’s Horticulture class to provide students with a hands-on learning experience like no other.

Pollination

Like many tasks on the orcharding calendar, pollination is one of the most important. Pollination is in full swing at SCH and the bees are working their magic around our sites.

Innovation in Monitoring

For the 2022/2023 growing season a new method of crop monitoring is being trialed at SCH.

House on the Hill (Whakatane)

SCH supports Joel and Audra, who have opened their Whakatane home to under privileged youth who need a safe environment, pastoral care, food, and a happy, healthy place to be that helps guide and support them through a difficult period in their lives.

Kiribati RSE

Through providing employment opportunities to our RSE, we enable them to save and provide medical services, food, clothing, shelter and schooling for their children and villages where they would otherwise live in poverty.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Bay of Plenty

SCH has donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters which has enabled many mentees to attend events in their region, helped provide resources and fun activities.

Enhancing Lives - Tauranga Boys College Orchard

Southern Cross Horticulture (SCH) is proud to have sponsored the Tauranga Boys College (TBC) model educational orchard in the middle of Tauranga city.

Merry Christmas from SCH!

Southern Cross Horticulture (SCH) wishes you and your family a Merry Christmas a Happy New Year!

Zespri 2022 Season Update

Zespri has announced the 2022 season preferred fruit size based on market demand and reported that size 39's will become Non-Standard Supply.

SCH Spring Strategy Day

The SCH Spring Strategy Field Day last month involved teams meeting on orchard to discuss the upcoming spring season and start planning their management strategies.

Zespri Kiwifruit Industry 2020/21 Season Overview

An update on the Zespri 2020/21 season including production, sales, grower payments, and shareholder dividends.

Frost Protection in Kiwifruit

Frost protection using overhead sprinklers and frost fans is a key element in protecting kiwifruit vines from frost damage.

Meet the team - Christine Nelson

Meet Christine Nelson, and learn about her journey at SCH from a greenhouse supervisor to Nursery Business Manager.

New Exec Team Structure

The growth of Southern Cross Horticulture has seen a new structure in our executive team, learn more about these changes.

SCH featured in The Weekend Sun

SCH was a proud bronze sponsor of the 2021 BOP Young Grower of the Year Competition.

SCH in the News

Southern Cross Horticulture’s Quintin Swanepoel, recently placed 3rd at the Bay of Plenty Young Grower Competition.

Enhancing Lives - Hosting Local High School Students

SCH’s is committed to developing the future capability of the kiwifruit industry and showcasing our world class kiwifruit orchards to high school students.

SCH in the News

Southern Cross Horticulture’s Megan Fox has recently featured in the news as part of Horticulture NZ’s submission to the NZ Parliament Primary Production Committee.

Meet the team - Carl Officer

Meet Carl Officer and learn about his journey at SCH from a nursery site manager to SLU Field Operations Manager.

Meet the team - Klemen Mrak

Meet Klemen Mrak, Commercial Manager, and learn about his journey from arriving as a backpacker to becoming a manger.

Meet the team - Eleandro Pinto

Meet Eleandro Pinto, Establishment Manager, and learn about how he’s grown as the company has.

Meet the team - Mike Worthington

Meet Mike Worthington, Machinery and Maintenance Engineer, and learn about his role within Southern Cross Horticulture.

Harvest has started!

The harvest season has started for the Southern Cross Horticulture Cropping team.

Meet the team - Michaela Horcinova

Meet Michaela Horcinova our Seasonal Labour Unit (SLU) Partner and know her journey with Southern Cross Horticulture.

Community Involvement – Impac House

At Southern Cross Horticulture we love to give back to our community and stay true to our purpose of enhancing lives.

Grafting

What is grafting and how SCH Nurseries does it.

Pre-grafting Preparation

Grafting in greenhouses is most successful in summer months compared to winter grafting in orchards.

Girdling

Why girdling is done?

Pre-harvest Thinning

Pre-harvest thinning helps with packhouse efficiencies, but does it also make financial sense for the grower?

Wind Protection

Wind protection is one of the key elements to get to first crop fast.

Seasonal Labour Unit

What is SCH doing to attract and retain people?

Graft Care

The key activity in establishing kiwifruit vines at this time of the season is graft care.

Kiwifruit varieties - which kiwifruit plants and vines to buy

When choosing a Kiwifruit variety, there are several key questions you will need to answer...

Buy Kiwifruit Plants - Step-by-step Guide

Looking to buy kiwifruit plants in New Zealand, but don’t know where to start? Read our step-by-step guide on how to purchase high quality kiwifruit plants in New Zealand, including what licenses are required.

Inclusion of Kiribati workers under the Recognized Seasonal Worker program

In addition to our strong focus on employing New Zealanders, a key aspect of enhancing lives has been the inclusion of Kiribati workers under the Recognized Seasonal Worker program.

Buy the best kiwifruit vines to establish your orchard faster

At Southern Cross Horticulture we go above and beyond to ensure that our kiwifruit vines are bigger, stronger and faster cropping plants than those found in other nurseries.

KVH Nurseries - High Quality Kiwifruit Plants

KVH nurseries are certified as being pest-free and disease-free and this is an essential element for successful kiwifruit vine establishment.

Which orchard will provide a high return on investment?

Golden kiwifruit orchards deliver great return on investment. Find out more about how you can achieve this with a Golden kiwifruit orchard.

KiwiFruit Orchard Management

Southern Cross Horticulture offer KiwiFruit Orchard Management Services – From propagation through to harvesting, we focus on bringing in that important first crop and delivering top long term results.

Which kiwifruit rootstock to choose

When you’re planning to establish a new kiwifruit orchard, one of the basic key ingredients is a selection of healthy rootstock plants.

How to convert a dairy farm into a kiwifruit orchard

An increasing number of Dairyfarm owners are looking to repurpose their land use from dairying to growing golden KiwiFruit. We have put together a step by step guide on how you can do this too.

How to establish a kiwifruit orchard

The team at Southern Cross Horticulture can help you establish a world-class orchard development. Our orchards consistently produce yields far higher than the industry average.

KiwiFruit Plants and Vines for Sale

Looking to buy kiwifruit plants or vines? Our KVH accredited nurseries specialise in the production and supply of high quality grafted kiwifruit plants for orchards.

KIWIFRUIT ORCHARD INVESTMENTS

We create and manage world-class kiwifruit investment opportunities that develop premium returns.

Disclaimer: This website does not constitute a regulated offer for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA) and is not an offer of financial products to the public. Any offer will be specified in a separate information memorandum. SCH offers are only open to investors who fall within the exclusions applicable to offers made to “wholesale investors” as set out inSchedule 1, clauses 3(2)(a) to (c) and 3(3)(a) to (b) of the FMCA. SCH requires investors to certify that they fit within one of the above categories of wholesale investors in order to be eligible for consideration to participate in an investment. All prospective investors are recommended to obtain independent professional advice.