The past five years have been defined by many hours of hard work for the team at Season Farms, in Gordonton, just north of Hamilton. In that time, a four-hectare greenhouse operation has been built from scratch and grown to be New Zealand’s largest producer of figs, which is the main crop grown undercover.

Season Farms is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gavins Limited, a cropping and agricultural contracting business which started out over 50 years ago. It originally grew maize for local farms, but has since expanded to include earthworks, transport, dairy goat farming, on-farm contracting services, stockfeed supply and now, growing high-value produce categories in a protected environment.

“The greenhouse business was something we established in 2018 to add another string to the bow,” says Business Manager, Stefan Pollard. “While it helps diversify the overall business, a lot of it comes down to our owners, the Gavin family, who simply like to grow things.”

“Through the earthworks side of the business, we were involved in the construction of a greenhouse which piqued our interest. It ultimately sparked a conversation about developing a growing operation and, as we learnt more about it, the decision was made to give it go.”

However, this is no ordinary set up. The high-tech greenhouses focus on producing high-value crops, with two hectares dedicated to figs, one hectare to strawberries and an additional hectare of passionfruit. By carefully controlling the conditions and the inputs, Season Farms achieve consistency in taste and quality, in an environmentally sustainable way.

We strive for quality,” says Stefan. “Our owners are all about producing the best fruit, which tastes good, looks good, and for us that’s what we aim for.”

A unique point-of-difference is the innovative growing practices, with the operation prepared to push the boundaries and challenge traditional ways for doing things. While producing strawberries undercover is becoming more common, growing figs indoors on a commercial scale is rare.

“Growing figs undercover is not usual,” says Head Grower, Virginia Campini.  Worldwide, there’s very few figs grown this way. In Turkey and Mediterranean countries, where most of the world’s figs are produced, they are grown outdoors.”

“Last year we had a visit from some Italian growers, who had never seen figs grown this way and were amazed at what we’re producing. They said a good yield for them was around 15 tonnes per hectare and we’re achieving double that.”

“Even with our strawberries, we’re growing in a fully enclosed environment where most undercover growers are using tunnel systems. The aim here is to produce in windows where there’s less volume in the market to achieve more value.”

“Our passionfruit crop has been more of a challenge, but we’re learning more and more each year.”

Growing this way has been a steep learning curve, especially given the use of technology and innovative approach. However, the mindset of continuous Improvement is what drives the business forward.

“We continue to do our research into growing systems, variety selection and the right balance of what we grow,” says Stefan. “We’re always looking to see what’s happening around us, both nationally and internationally.”

“We’re really focused on improving year-on-year. One of the challenges is the time it takes to implement change because horticulture is such a long-game. It can be tough because with some of the bigger modifications, you have to wait a year before you can apply what you’ve learned.”

“Figs have been an ongoing focus for us where early on we identified an opportunity, but we’ve also had to work hard to create the market. The first year was about getting to production levels that we could sustain, but now we are more established, we are pushing for higher quality and an increase in our production.”

“Also, it’s not easy to get good information about growing systems for figs so we’ve had to do a lot of our own research and development. That’s where Virginia’s background as an agricultural engineer plays an important role, who as well as overseeing staff and the cropping operation she has the ability to pinpoint what is needed to grow amazing plants.”

The team at Season Farms are supported by MG Procurement Manager, Zach Zaloum, who helps coordinate supply through the MG branch network.

Pictured: Seasons Farms Head Grower Virginia Campini and MG Representative Zach Zaloum