Te Puna Umanga / Venture Taranaki, the regional development agency, has put a call out to Taranaki landowners to apply to participate in their Branching Out growing trials, kicking off in Spring 2023.

The agency’s Branching Out project, now in its second phase, aims to foster an environment that allows value chain diversification opportunities to be investigated, adopted, and to flourish, in Taranaki.

"We have reached an exciting milestone of the project where we’ll narrow our focus to a select range of crops that have been identified as having high potential to succeed in Taranaki. A vital component in this next phase is growing trials where we look to prove that diversification is possible and that landowners can benefit economically, environmentally, and socially," says Michelle Bauer, Branching Out Project Lead.

The list of crops identified includes, angelica (gin botanicals), ashwagandha (medicinal plants), echinacea (medicinal plants), hemp for fibre production, hops, liquorice (gin botanicals), and sustainable crop rotation: high value grains, legumes, and vegetables.

"We are seeking to work with growers and landowners from around the region to test recommendations and methods relating to growing, harvesting, and processing. Through the trials we’ll also document the challenges, benefits and opportunities, and lessons learned as the growers and grower groups in Taranaki prepare to commercialise their efforts," continues Bauer.

For the trials to be successful there needs to be a minimum of three trial sites for each crop and the trial duration must be across at least two growing cycles. Venture Taranaki has engaged with experts to ensure the trials follow industry best practice and on-the-ground guidance will be provided by a Field Agronomist who will collate trial results and undertake analysis of performance.

"We need up to 30 trial sites from around the region and while we’ve had several interested parties, we still need more sites to get involved. Landowners and growers who participate will only need to commit to one growing cycle and will benefit from derisked knowledge and experience from growing high value crops on their land, potential profit from successful trial yields and the option to continue growing commercially beyond trials," explains Bauer.

The Branching Out project is guided by a Steering Group, who will be involved in the final selection of sites. Geographic location will be an important determinant of selection, as a good ‘spread’ of sites across the region will be required.

For more information and to apply to participate visit https://www.venture.org.nz/projects/branching-out/growing-trials-expression-of-interest/.

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