Tapping into taste for quinoa
Growing Taranaki’s first commercial crop of quinoa was challenge enough, but finding a combine harvester in a district devoted to dairying proved tougher.
Luckily for Hamish and Kate Dunlop, of Hãwera, they found someone who owns the only suitable machine in the region living just down the road.
The couple’s journey into growing a crop native to South America on their sheep and beef farm began with a discussion about whether quinoa, a food the health-conscious family was already familiar with, would grow in South Taranaki, Kate said. Three years later, they are only the second commercial growers of the healthy seed in New Zealand.
Their New Zealand Quinoa Company product is stocked in 11 shops around New Zealand, including Vetro in New Plymouth. Quinoa has twice the protein level of rice and is a complete protein because it contains all nine amino acids required by the body.
‘‘It’s not just a one-trick pony, it has so much going for it. We’re pretty excited we can grow it in New Zealand,’’ Kate said.
‘‘Like most farmers we have heard all the stories on the problems the world faces, and as farmers we want to be part of the future, help solve some of those issues, and plant proteins are going to be a huge part of future food.’’
‘‘This whole experiment has pushed a whole lot of our comfort zones in a lot of ways. It’s been exciting and terrifying,’’ Kate said.
The couple have three
children, Sophie, 6, George, 4, Annabel, 2, and a new baby will join the family in November.
‘‘The quinoa goes in in October and the baby comes out in November,’’ she joked.
Hamish said growing the new crop fitted well into the farming operation and they saw it as an extension of their commitment to farming sustainably and producing top quality food.
‘‘We lose a little bit of lamb fattening country but it fits in well with the regrassing programme that I’m doing,’’ he said.
The couple have been on their 400ha sheep and beef (360ha effective) farm, which winters 4500 stock units, for 10 years. In that time they’ve planted thousands of native trees and have a QEII covenant on an area of bush on the farm.
Hamish’s father is farmer and South Taranaki District mayor Ross Dunlop.
‘‘Dad’s a real conservationist, he’s always done that, and the same with us, it’s what we do.
‘‘There’s a generation of farmers coming through that are wanting to see what else we can be doing, looking outside the box.’’
The couple have also leased some land in the Manawatu where they’re also growing quinoa. ‘‘We’re growing the bulk of it up here but we are hedging our bets on climate and crop failure, and they’ve got all the machinery available down there,’’ Hamish said.
Quinoa is relatively new to New Zealand’s dinner tables but it has been a staple food in South America for over 5000 years.
The Dunlops’ journey began with the process of importing various varieties of quinoa seed through MPI and Customs, and growing them all to see what suited the South Taranaki climate, and the best timing, method and rates to sow the seeds. ‘‘In the first year we grew eight hectares, last year we grew 17 hectares. This year we’re scaling it back a bit,’’ he said.