Fieldco Ltd
With some of our kumara looking a little battered after some extreme weather conditions, we launched our Humble Heroes range – little heroes that have come through it all looking a little scraped, but just as good inside!
They say a week is a long time in politics, I was thinking of that statement as I watched our fields get inundated with the waters of Cyclone Gabrielle a week or so back. How much things can change in a single week when you are a grower too! The amount of water that flowed through some areas where we had never seen it flow before, was mind boggling.
However, we feel very lucky compared to Hawkes Bay and East Coast. The floods around Dargaville and Ruawai didn’t carry the volume of silt or slash and there was no loss of life here. We feel for the people in those regions, especially those who have lost loved ones, and we applaud the amazing work of the response teams.
There would not be one kumara grower in our region that didn’t see his or her hard labour swamped by the floodwaters, and we were all left feeling how long will it be until our industry recovers? One particular issue will be finding good seed kumara for next years crop. Almost 100% of growers are yet to start harvest and would have initially intended to begin harvesting within the next two weeks. The situation now is still evolving but it appears some growers have lost their entire 2023 crop and almost all others will be affected badly by rot.
2023 will be a challenging year for kumara supply and our volumes will be massively down but Fieldco are thankful to have a spread of plantings at various stages and we will be working hard to keep finding solutions for our customers in both fresh and frozen.
A massive THANK YOU to all our customers who bought from us over the month of August. Every little bit helped us to reach our target of $10,000!
With their help we raised a total of $10,008.50 for the oppressed people of Ukraine. We were determined to hit our target so we rallied to the cause and donated $1445 ourselves.
We have all watched in horror as so many innocent people have had their whole livelihoods ripped away and their families torn apart. The stories of defenseless civilians killed while waiting in line for food, of ordinary people like you and me denied what we regard as normal necessities such as food, hygiene, water and electricity. The escaping mother who walked for 24hrs in sub-zero temperatures carrying her twin babies. These are people who are isolated from the world due to no internet, often not even knowing the whereabouts or welfare of their own loved ones. Ordinary people, forced to endure extraordinary hardship through none of their own making.
In response to this crisis unfolding in Ukraine, RRT launched Operation 322 to deliver emergency food and personal care supplies to those displaced.
With essential food and personal care products in high demand, RRT is loading trucks with Food Boxes filled with non-perishable food items, Care Kits equipped with personal care products, Baby Care Kits containing formula and nappies, bottled water and blankets.
At Fieldco we really care about people. That is what has moved us to support the people of Ukraine in this special way, via RRT. You can help us support them too when you purchase Fieldco fresh kumara in August or by donating directly through the link below.
Many thanks, together we know we can help ease someone’s pain in a very small way.
So how did this work?
For Fieldco’s Finest kumara grades sold, we donated 10c p/kg towards the Operation 322.
Customers were able to access our Fresh Kumara ordering sheet to work out how many dollars they were giving back to families in need in Ukraine.
Would you like to give extra donation to this worthy cause? Click on the link below to view more on our GiveaLittle page.
We’d like to extend a big thankyou and shout out to all the efforts going in with the produce teams across the country. What an interesting game we get to play – every day is a fresh opportunity, a chance to do something different, and a brand new challenge. Dynamic, we call it – yesterdays fresh produce could be tomorrows’ waste and the difference between good and bad, happy and sad, or profit and loss.
We have been reflecting on our 46 years of growing produce here at Fieldco and the many changes experienced – never more so than in the last 3 years. On top of ever increasing environmental and social responsibilities, there are a few costs in particular that directly affect the produce industry globally and would be keeping food producers all over the country, awake at night.
I thought you may be interested in just a few of our findings:
Talking about high cost of food in the supermarkets, it is obvious we can’t lay all the blame at the retailers feet. Input costs everywhere are increasing incredibly fast and unfortunately that just means a higher price for us all to pay as consumers. As costs rise, scarcity usually follows as producers look to more viable crop alternatives or simply go out of business altogether.
Kumara pricing recently has been quite a bumpy ride but the facts are, as with all Food & Beverage items, we will see increases to continue going forward. We are also very mindful of the true cost of sustainability.
A very good point to remember and sometimes discuss with our friends, Almost everything we eat was grown by someone, somewhere on a farm.
-Rick Simpkin | Director
A hidden gem!
As we age, eating well takes on new significance. Requirements for many nutrients increases.
However, due to several changes that occur during our older years, older adults may find it more challenging to meet their nutrient needs than ever before. While appetite and energy requirements decrease, there can be also be a reduced ability to purchase and/or prepare foods independently in the home. Combined with age-associated changes to dentition (affecting the ability to chew and swallow), taste and smell, all these factors can all influence food intake and the ability for older adults to get all the nutrients they need. Therefore, it important to make every eating occasion count, by providing as much nourishment as possible.
Enter the mighty kumara!
Kumara Nutrition for Older Adults
This often-underrated vegetable has been a staple of the Kiwi diet, dating back to the 10th century when Māori first arrived in New Zealand. While we often only think of kumara’s carbohydrate content when it comes to nutrition, kumara provides a range of health promoting nutrients, which are important as we age:
Carbohydrate:
Being one of the most carbohydrate rich vegetables, kumara is an excellent source of energy. Kumara has a lower Glycaemic Index (GI) than potatoes. This means the energy (in the form of glucose) from kumara is released more slowly – giving less of a sugar spike – compared to potatoes.
Fibre:
Kumara is a source of fibre. As we age, it’s important to eat a diet rich in fibre to help alleviate constipation and keep you regular. Including plenty of dietary fibre may also help to keep your heart healthy. When increasing fibre intake, also make sure to drink enough fluids throughout the day.
Potassium:
Watch out bananas, kumara are also a rich source of potassium. To help support the health of your heart, it is recommended you ensure you’re getting enough potassium, along with reducing your salt intake. However, those with kidney disease can find too much potassium harmful and will need to be mindful of how much potassium they have in a day.
Vitamin A and C:
Kumara is a good source of vitamin C and beta-carotene. These powerful antioxidants can help to support our immune system. As we age, our immune systems don’t work as effectively as they once did. Therefore, having a diet rich in antioxidants, is just as important as ever to help keep older adults healthy and well. Vitamin A can also support our vision, which can decline as we age.
B Vitamins:
Our requirements for many B vitamins increase as we age. While B vitamins are often thought about for the roles they play in energy production, vitamin B deficiency has been linked to heart disease, cognitive dysfunction, and osteoporosis in older adults. The good news is that kumara is a source of B vitamins. Depending on the variety, this includes thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, and vitamin B6.
Phytonutrients:
Each beautiful colour of kumara, provides us with a different array of phytonutrients. Anthocyanins are a group of phytonutrients which are found in the skin of red and purple kumara varieties. Kumara with orange and yellow skins and flesh, are rich in beta-carotene. These phytonutrients have antioxidant and anti-flammatory activity which can help to keep us healthy by supporting our immune system and overall function of our body.
How can I include kumara in my residents’ meals?
To cut the hassle out of food prep, Kumara Portions and Diced Kumara are both convenient products, which make it easy to include the kumara into meals for your residents are aged care or retirement homes.
Use kumara as a replacement for potato in your favourite recipes. Some quick and easy ways to include kumara are:
The Eating and Activity Guidelines recommend adults over the age of 70 aim to eat at least 5 serves of vegetables every day. Half a medium piece of kumara is equivalent to 1 serve of vegetables.
Do you ever get to the end of preparing vegetables and look at the sheer amount of skins and waste you end up with?
A couple of reasons for you to consider choosing frozen prepared vegetables:
One thing to look out for when you’re buying is Country of Origin. You want to look out for New Zealand Grown as any other foreign country products really are not kumara, it’s sweet potato! For our Red Kumara Dice, we mostly use the Owairaka kumara variety. Small backstory on this variety…as legend has it, it was brought out by the Maori when they came hundreds of years ago. This variety has evolved a bit over time – theirs were a smaller and lumpier shape but were a staple in their diets because kumara was a vegetable that stored really well.
What’s the difference between Red and Orange Kumara Dice?
Beauregard, our Orange kumara, is softer in texture compared to the Original Red Kumara and has a faster cooking time. Its soft texture means it is best suited to use for a mash or as a potato or pumpkin substitute in any dish. It is also the sweetest tasting of all the kumara varieties. Try a recipe such as this delicious Chicken Pie
The Red Kumara variety is a great healthy substitute for the average potato. Today, the traditional Red is still the main commercial crop grown in the Kaipara because of its popularity. It has a deep red skin with a creamy white flesh and veined centre. Owairaka Red are a firm textured variety, making them an ideal salad or roasting kumara but also go great in winter soups or casseroles.
You’ll often hear of the phrase “The Kumara Capital of New Zealand”. And it makes us wonder, does everyone actually know where this is and the reason behind it?
Dargaville is the Kumara Capital of New Zealand. And it stands with good reason, as 95% of kumara you’ll find in your supermarket comes from the Kumara Capital.
Dargaville is a small farming town located 2 hours north of Auckland. Only a short 10 minutes from the West Coast and winding alongside the Northern Wairoa River, the land in the Dargaville region is typically quite flat.
Kumara growing in the Kaipara region dates right back to early Maori times where kumara was a long lasting crop for the tribes to store and they included it in their diets most of the year.
Most will tell you it’s because of the shallow clay bed that makes up a lot of the land on the river plains near the Wairoa River. Kumara grow well in the alluvial plains of the northern Kaipara Region. Rich top-soil of the river plains is furrowed to a depth which ensure a good-looking well-shaped kumara crop. This shallow clay bed means the kumara, which is a root crop, grows to a good depth, before hitting the clay layer.
Another reason is because the Kaipara region also has a very tropical climate, with warm summers and very mild winters. Kumara are a subtropical plant, grow best in tropical areas. The average temperature in the Kaipara is relatively high with our warm nights and high sunshine hours. We typically have more sunshine than other parts of Northland even.
Location matters. That’s why all our kumara is grown right here in the winterless north of New Zealand. The sunny, tropical Northland climate and its rich soil are what kumara love. With all our produce entirely New Zealand grown, you can trace each of our kumara back to the paddock it was grown in.
Dargaville is the Kumara Capital of New Zealand. And it stands with good reason, as 95% of kumara you’ll find in the supermarket comes from the Kumara Capital.
Dargaville is a small farming town located 2 hours north of Auckland. Only a short 10 minutes from the West Coast and winding alongside the Wairoa River, the land in the Dargaville region is typically quite flat.
Kumara growing in the Kaipara region dates right back to early Maori times where kumara was a long lasting crop for the tribes to store and they included it in their diets most of the year.
Most will tell you it’s because of the shallow clay bed that makes up a lot of the land on the river plains near the Wairoa River. Kumara grow well in the alluvial plains of the northern Kaipara Region. Rich top-soil of the river plains is furrowed to a depth which ensure a good-looking well-shaped kumara crop. This shallow clay bed means the kumara, which is a root crop, grows to a good depth, before hitting the clay layer.
Another reason is because the Kaipara region also has a very tropical climate, with warm summers and very mild winters. Kumara are a subtropical plant, grow best in tropical areas. The average temperature in the Kaipara is relatively high with our warm nights and high sunshine hours. We typically have more sunshine than other parts of Northland even.
