Steve Smith
Bay of Plenty
We have been involved with the avocado industry since purchasing an orchard in Katikati in 2016. Now standing at about 10.5 ha of mature trees and more intensively planted blocks the orchard is now showing signs of consistent production and good health. The attraction of working with Just Avocados is that the company is big enough to be meaningful in the marketplace while not being so big as to lose sight of individual growers. I feel able to make suggestions and see my role as assisting the communication and information flow. If there is a particular area of expertise it probably understanding what new growers are going through or the questions that prospective growers should be asking. If I see another real estate sign promoting an avocado block as “passive income” I will scream! As a relatively new grower with a background in communications and primary production I would like to think I can be a useful point of contact for growers as well as providing Just Avocados with useful input to their programmes and strategies. Both parties are dependent on each other for success. The advisory group is a means to achieve this.