New Zealand Launches Programme to Improve Vineyard Profitability

New Zealanders like to consider their small, geographically-isolated country to be especially ‘clever’ and ‘innovative’, and there is no question that their agriculture has often been a step ahead of the rest of the world. In 1959, it transformed an imported fruit – the ‘Chinese Gooseberry’ – into its own Kiwi Fruit, developed a world-bearing lamb and wool industry and, in 1984, its government reacted to a financial crisis by turning the country, almost overnight, into the only industrialized nation with no farm subsidies.

Seven years later, 1991 the Resource Management Act was introduced to promote the ‘sustainable management of natural resources’ and, in 1997, the New Zealand wine industry pioneered sustainable viticulture. Subsequently, wineries that failed to comply were not allowed to present their products on the country’s generic exhibition stands and, today, all but 3% of the vineyards are part of this programme.

This centralised strategy is clearly apparent in the announcement by Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay, that, after seven years of working with in partnership with New Zealand Winegrowers Incorporated and a number of vineyards, and investing NZ$5.6m ($3.5m) per annum, the government is to support a new scheme to improve the profitability of the national wine industry. Named the ‘Next Generation Viticulture Programme’ the initiative is intended to add NZ$22,060 ($13,800) to the profitability of each hectare by 2045 – a total for the nation as a whole, of NZ$295m ($184,650m).

The aim is to increase yields through canopy management techniques that will maximise beneficial exposure to sunlight. Initially, seven pilot vineyards, have been selected for the programme before its wider roll-out.