CSB - Mike Arnold - LeaderBrand’s South Island Manage

This week, LeaderBrand’s highly anticipated alpine asparagus hits supermarket aisles, grown in the fertile plains at the base of the Southern Alps, the cooler nights and warmer days grow delicious spears renowned for their sweet flavour and tender texture.  

 

New Zealander’s tend to forget about seasonality when we’re spoilt year-around with vegetables and fruit in consistent supply, but when asparagus arrives it's a great reminder that some produce is only around for a short time and that we need to make the most of them when they’re available

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on
Gold Sport.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
They say that you're never too old to learn. I've
just learned something yesterday actually, that there are a lot
of varieties of asparagus. Here is me thinking there was
just asparagus was asparagus, but no way and joining us
out of leder Brand, South Island, Leder brown Man, leder
Brand Manager. There's Mike Arnold who's excited because the southern asparagus,

(00:26):
the alpine asparagus, is just popping its heads up.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Morning Mike, good morning. How things there today? Very well?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
And I know you're excited, So tell me a little
bit more about this alpine asparagus.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Well, hey, look, alpine's the name we've given up, especially
because it's gone beneath the Sudden Alps. We're down here
at Chertsey, just south there of christ Church, and it's
gone in a cold environment, cold nights of course, snow
peak mountains and warm, hot days. So there we go.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
So what makes those spears say different to the spears
that we've been getting in the North Island over the
past few weeks.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, not a whole lot of different, certain varieties of
different flavors in them, different textures, different colors and ours
are being bred down here by a breeder in the
South Island.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
And obviously there's a lot of asparagus because it's very intensive.
It takes about a thousand days for it to grow,
doesn't it.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Look it takes up to three years we call it. So, yeah,
a thousand days so from where to go before we
start even getting the crop. It's a long process. We
nurtured the wee babies for a couple two or three
years and then we're into it. Once you're into it,
you had about fifteen years in the ground to life

(01:46):
for that plant.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
And it's a very labor intensive. I mean everything has
to be hand harvested in New Zealand, doesn't it With
each spear.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Look, it's all done by hand. Every single spar is
cut by a hand. Use a lot of local staff,
a lot of kiwis, lot of New Zealanders, but also
a lot of people in from the islands on the
RS scheme. Mostly our guys are from Vanua too. They're
mostly men, some women of course, and it's a fairly
physical job, but anyone can do it. We've helped out

(02:18):
by providing in some cases little mechanical buggies, one person
per buggy and away they go. That's helped a lot
of the backbreaking taken, the back breaking out of things.
And of course we have locked into technology which is robots.
So that's a wee way away yet. Some countries overseas

(02:39):
they're getting there. As I say, it's a wee way
away yet, and very expensive lot of capital. But hey,
one day, who knows.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
So the cooler nights, the warmer days down the base
of the Southern Alps absolutely ideal conditions for growing the
special asparagus.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well we think so, we think so, it's just a
different climate. It's later. We're a month later coming up
in the North Island. It's been out now for say
three to four weeks early nice early asparagus up there
in the North. It's been produced and we'll come in
and we'll go right to the Christmas with this stuff.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
In New Zealand as a nation that absolutely loves it asparagus,
it's asparagus, isn't it, Mike?

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well, just I mean over the weekend the people I've
been talking to and I get hounded, of course, because
you know, where's your sparagus, Where's your sparagus. We can't
wait for it. Come on, come on, so I reckon.
We are with some friends and the different ways of
cooking it, with thousand different recipes. We're coming out some
good ones over the weekend. Yeah, how they or how

(03:44):
everyone does it slightly different, that's your own way of
doing things. I mean, I like mind just doing the
old barbie' in the frying pand with olive oall and
but a salt and pepper and chuck a bit of
lemon tea silent at the end, and there you go.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, you can't beat it. I mean, it's best to
eat it virtually as soon as you've got it from
the from your market, isn't it.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
As soon as you can. Don't brother about storing it up.
Just get it home and get it in the pan,
and go get some more tomorrow and again.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
And the experts say that it's one of the healthiest
vegetables you can eat.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
It is, indeed, there there's no question about that. We
also go a lot of broccoli here at Leader Brand,
and we all know how good that is for you.
But I also think asparagus, you know, may even just
edge it. You may just have the edge on the
old abruptly even so for a good, healthy, good healthy product.
All right.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
For Leader Brand in the South Island, have been challenging
times for growers. I guess down south it's been very
very wet. North Canterbury it's been fairly dry. How how's
the season been generally for vegetables.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
Look, we've had a long cold winter South Island, extremely cold. Yeah,
some decent big frost, pretty nali. Hence we're a little
bit about in the normal time for asparagus. But look,
generally it's it's I don't know, the season's changed. They
come and they go, and you put up with what
you get. So yeah, I think it hasn't been too

(05:07):
bad over all. There's plenty of edges around, yeah, and
there have been enjoying the you know, there's plenty of
product around, nice college flowers, all sorts of things, and
prices have been good, so hopefully people in enjoying that. Well.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Look out Alpine asparagus. The Leader Brands Alpine asparagus is
out now. Mike k thanks for joining.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Us, mate good Man, thank you very much.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Mike Arnold, who is Leader Brand's South Island manager, apparently
will consume more than two and a half thousand tons
of asparagus. Spears. That's a lot of asparagus, but it
is good like his recipe.