Day 2

Our morning began with a beautiful Auckland sunrise followed by a traditional New Zealand breakfast at the hotel. We then loaded the bus and headed for Balle Brothers vegetable growers located in Pukekohe, where more than 44 inches of rain falls each year, which enhances yield and profitability of vegetable crops. They are the biggest vegetable growers in New Zealand. Balle Brothers produce mainly onions, potatoes, and carrots as well as cauliflower, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes. They harvest 10 months out of the year and processing can operate up to 22 hours a day at peak times. Balle Brothers’ level of production is a good example of how New Zealand, a country with 4.7 million people, can produce enough food to feed roughly twenty million people, with 60% of their produce exported fresh to Asia, Indonesia, and Europe. Balle Bros is operated by 7 brothers, who also operate a dairy farm in Chile. They strive for a maximum of 10% waste off all fresh produce. The waste products are then utilized on their dairy of roughly 2000 cows. One challenge facing Balle Bros is the exponential rate of subdivision housing being built for the growing urban population. The construction is taking away high quality soil used for cropping land. 

SDSU group at Balle Bros vegetable processing

While at Balle Bros, we observed how they sorted, graded, and packed the onions. They are separated based on size and where they are going to be exported to. The machines used for onion, potato, and carrot sorting are all very similar and require a group of about ten people to run. 

Crate of onions and onion sorter

Group of workers sorting and grading onions

Onion bagger

Maurice Balle talking to students about the varying sizes of bag their onions are sold in, and how they are exported.

Crate of carrots, and workers sorting and grading

After our Balle Bros tour we had the opportunity to stop at Farmlands, which is a store very similar to  Runnings or Fleet Farm. It felt like a small piece of home to see similar livestock health and wellness supplies being sold and used. 

Farmlands sign

Gallagher Group headquarters building

This afternoon, we visited Gallagher Group, a global leader in the innovation, manufacture, and marketing of animal management, security, and fuel systems. Gallagher Group supplies electric fencing supplies for farmers to keep cattle, goats, and sheep enclosed. Their corporate offices include locations such as Kansas City, U.S.A, Canada, and Australia. They are home to over 1,000 employees and have shareholders in European countries. Their company strives to produce a high quality, high performance, and innovative product. 

Gallagher Group extruded cable division. This cable comes in many varieties and is commonly used for underground operations.

Gallagher Group worker bagging fencing insulators.