Across three generations of the Dyer family, change is viewed as a constant in farming. Retired Tauranga orchardist Graham Dyer said, "The only guarantee in life is change." Graham and his wife, Mavis, were named Regional Supreme Winners in the 2011 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Their sons, Steve and Gavin, later rebuilt their Gold Nugget Orchard after the kiwifruit vine disease Psa, and the orchard team went on to win AgriBusiness and AgriScience awards in 2018. In the next generation, Graham's grandson, Blair, alongside Steve Atkinson of Kiwi Heights, received this year's Regional Supreme Award.
Blair noted the continuing variability in the industry. "I've been in this [kiwifruit] industry 11 years and we haven't had one season the same," he said. "If you are not constantly adapting to change, you're going backwards."
The family's move into kiwifruit was unplanned. Graham's father moved from Pukekohe to Tauranga in 1960 to escape wet soil conditions, buying a 120 ha dairy property. The free-draining land later proved suitable for kiwifruit. Graham and Mavis transitioned from dairy to horticulture in the 1980s, selling their dairy stud to their son Steve and planting kiwifruit. They also planted avocados, but wet conditions prevented growth. The trees were removed and replaced with 2,000 Ginkgo biloba trees across 2 ha, which formed the basis of a 20-year project involving processing and research. When the crop failed to gain market acceptance, the ginkgo trees were mulched.
Blair described Graham as the innovator of the family, saying he was driven by the need to innovate rather than by financial outcomes. Blair now operates a management consultancy and manages a small kiwifruit orchard with his wife, noting changes that have increased production per hectare. New Zealand exported about 22,000 tons of kiwifruit in 1981, compared with approximately 603,500 tons in 2022.
Blair said, "The chemicals we are using are more advanced and safer. We are constantly measuring and collecting data points on how much food and water the plants need. The packing is very digitised and largely robotic now." He added that cross-breeding programs deliver new varieties through Zespri. "You have to be nimble as new varieties come onto the market. Gold kiwifruit in particular has returns that are unrivalled on a per-hectare level."
The Dyer family remains closely connected to the industry. While Steve continues dairy farming in the Waikato, he and his wife were early investors in Gold Nugget orchards with Gavin and Linda. The family values the transfer of knowledge across generations. Mavis said, "Our children are all very successful in their own way, and that to me is success."
With kiwifruit still New Zealand's highest-value fruit export and expected to exceed US$5 billion in 2025, Graham said he hopes future generations stay connected to the land, but added, "My wish would be that they do what they want to do."
Source: SunLive
