Climatic situations

"What we found is that all four crops could grow well in some areas of Tararua, but conditions differed from area to area. Pahiatua, Woodville and Dannevirke were slightly warmer and had less rainfall than the higher altitude Eketāhuna and Northwood, making them less suitable than other areas," Archer said. rnz.co.nz .

Optimal conditions

The report found that with "mild to moderate soil modification," most of the land area should be able to support at least one of the proposed land use options, in areas where soil modification is not an option, Blueberries could be grown in containers on top of the soil.

Long-term investment

He noted that installing a cover for the blueberries required a lot of capital, but the fruit produces a gross margin of more than $ 80,000 per hectare, so it would only take six years to break even if a farmer made the investment.

Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis said farmers in the region have shown interest in diversifying their land. "The next step is to get interested people talking to each other so we can get experts and create networks around these different crops."