John Paynter has become the first grower to be honoured with the Pipfruit New Zealand Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Pipfruit Industry.
Paynter was presented with the award at the New Zealand Horticultural Conference and Awards dinner in Nelson late last week. Upon accepting the award, the Hawke’s Bay-based orchardist said all he has ever wanted to do is plant fruit trees and he will continue doing so.
“No other industry puts more back into the local economy of my region than horticulture – in terms of the thousands of jobs it has created, revenue returns, ongoing investment, along with science, innovation and education opportunities,” Paynter explained.
“We are entering a great time in horticulture and our future is going to be even brighter as New Zealand leads the international market with premium quality fruit and new varieties.
Paynter played a leading role in establishing the Fruit Industry Plant Improvement Agency (FIPIA) and was the original architect of the global variety development programme for ENZA.
He was elected as a director of the New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board in 1976 and served three-year terms until 1985. He stood down for three years and then served a further nine years through to 1997.
“I’ve lived the good times and the bad, experienced the highs of record returns and seen growers lose their livelihoods and Mother Nature destroy our crops, but beyond doubt New Zealand is the best place to grow apples and the world knows it,” Paynter said.
Paynter has also served on the boards of Napier Port, Plant and Food Research, New Zealand Kiwifruit Authority and was the founding chairman of Zespri.
He owns the Johnny Appleseed export business, with the company’s Yummy brand also recognised as a leader in the New Zealand domestic market, supplying apples and stonefruit through supermarkets and into schools across the country.
“John’s vision, leadership and thirst for innovation has made one of the greatest impacts in shaping Hastings’ landscape and the economy of Hawke’s Bay along with the ongoing success of New Zealand’s horticultural industry,” Pipfruit New Zealand’s chief executive Alan Pollard said.
“John has always been at the cutting edge of developing new varieties and marketing strategy and orchard innovation. He was the first grower to individually brand fruit in 1975, introduce wind machines to New Zealand and limestone tracks in orchards.”
Paynter has lived his whole life in Hastings, however, there was more than a hint of irony that he was honoured in Nelson.
“It was in Nelson that our family first started planting apples in 1862, it was Nelson growers, not Hawke’s Bay, who first backed me when I stood for the New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board, and 40 years ago it was in Nelson at this very same venue that we announced a record payout that saved our industry with a miraculous recovery.”
