The Taste of Horowhenua adds string to its bow with crop diversification
A selfless desire to create year-round employment for staff was the main driver for Horowhenua’s Lewis Farms to diversify into strawberries.
Geoff and Liz Lewis, who started growing and packing asparagus in 1980 for the local and export market as Tendertips, now have son Cam and wife Catherine on board as joint owners of both Tendertips and its main supplier Lewis Farms - and with that has come the opportunity to branch out.
“The asparagus season is short and sweet – from September to Christmas – so with the energy of Cam and I on board and the real challenge of sourcing good seasonal labour the family decided 2018 was the right time to diversify,” Catherine Lewis says.
“By planting 1.1ha of strawberries in tunnels, our strawberry season will run from September/October through to May – allowing us to hold onto core staff for 9-12 months of the year.”
The Lewis family is proudly committed to employing local Horowhenua New Zealanders, but also employ some of the local refugee population through the Red Cross, as well as the local Samoan community.
While excited to see where strawberries will take them, asparagus remains number one. With a number of blocks in the region growing several varieties of asparagus, Tendertips sells 500 tonnes of asparagus to both the local New Zealand and Japanese export markets.
Only a small portion of the asparagus crop goes to Japan – around 15 per cent - but it is an incredibly important part of the Tendertips operation.
“They love our asparagus,” Catherine says. “They love the presentation, how sweet it is, and how green it is – the Japanese really ‘eat with their eyes’.
“We have very loyal customers with whom Geoff has nurtured relationships for many years; it is a very important market for us.”
The Lewis’, who also own a dairy farming business, proudly identify as a family owned and operated business who are staunchly supportive of the local Horowhenua community.
Along with other producers, Lewis Farms founded and is championing the Horowhenua Taste Trail, an event sponsored by Rabobank, in its third year which celebrates the richness and diversity of all that is grown and produced in the district.
Lewis Farms savours the opportunity to allow the public behind the scenes of local businesses, sampling delicious fresh produce directly from the source.
“Horowhenua is a small region but we are one of the main food bowls of New Zealand,” Catherine says.
“Lewis Farms’ tagline is ‘Taste of the Horowhenua’, and we live and breathe it.”
“By planting 1.1ha of strawberries in tunnels, our strawberry season will run from September/ October through to May – allowing us to hold onto core staff for 9-12 months of the year.” Catherine Lewis