On the 31st of August Toni-Jean Burrell, Cameron Bellamy and l attended an AgHort trip to complete our course throughout the year with Kaipara Kumara. We intended departing at 4.00am but one of our passengers was a little late and at 4:20am we were off. First we went to Countdown Greenlane to look at the kumara on display. This Countdown has the highest turnover in New Zealand. We then arrived at Sutherland Produce at 7.36am. This business is now in their third generation of operation and they grow broccoli, silverbeet and lettuce. At 9.14am we arrived at AS Wilcox where they process potatoes, onion and carrots. Wilcox export 60% of their onions stock to Europe and have people who process onions all day. 10.39am we arrived at New Zealand Hothouse where they grow mostly cucumber and tomatoes hydroponically.  The tomato plants can grow up to 18 metres long. 12:00pm Mr Chips here we come! Mr Chips process 60,000 tons per year but only use 50% due to the peeling and cleaning process. Our last stop was the Countdown Distribution Centre at 1.24pm where they told us that by the time Countdown nationally goes plastic bag free it will result in a 1% loss in sales which is around 60 million dollars a year. Ending with that massive figure fresh in our minds, we set off to come home for a well-earned rest. I would just like to say a HUGE thank you to Anthony Blundell, Peter Blundell, Helene Blundell and Sam Panoho for all you have done for us AgHort students this year. It has been an amazing experience and I am 100% sure that it has taught us so much in so many ways, so thank you not only for your time but for your effort. It is much appreciated.  – Samantha Llewell

Please find photo’s below