The orchard is the pilot farm of New Zealand Zero, whose founders want to build a fossil-fuel-free growing community, and are working to establish a new certification for carbon-zero produce.

New Zealand Zero co-founder Mike Casey had sold his late-2000s startup, GradConnection, to Seek in 2019 for a tidy sum, and came back to Central Otago intending to relax. However the former software developer saw a huge opportunity to make a difference by converting his newly established cherry orchard, Forest Lodge Farm, to renewables.

New Zealand Zero co-founder Mike Casey.

With almost 10,000 cherry trees across 6 hectares, a sustainability audit revealed that using standard diesel technology on the farm would lead to between 50 and 80 tonnes of yearly CO2 emissions.

Michiel Reuvecamp, New Zealand Zero co-founder, says they started exploring what they could do to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. “We started with electric golf carts to get around the property instead of quad bikes.”

New Zealand Zero co-founder Michiel Reuvecamp.

Switching out other fossil-fuel powered appliances for electric was fairly straightforward, with an electric lawnmower, bore pump, and forklifts all readily available. But one of the farms' major sources of diesel consumption was the essential frost-fighting fans.

“Stonefruit needs frost-fighting fans. We imported two 30 kW frost-fighting fans from South Africa to replace the diesel fans.”

He says the electric fans proved to have additional benefits apart from reducing emissions. “The footprint in the orchard is a lot less and we don’t need big vehicles to come and service them - maintenance is a lot easier.”

It was a no-brainer in sunny Otago to generate their own solar power, and they installed a 120 kW battery array to support 45 kW of solar panels on the shed roof. They also spent just over $100,000 upgrading their grid connection to three-phase power, which was required for the electric irrigation pump.

PHOTO: Miles Holden

Targeting renewables via the grid

Casey has even gone to the extent of monitoring the spot price, so the farm only takes power when it is fully renewable. “We do treat the grid like a giant battery. I’ve tried to programme the solar system to take power from the grid only when power is renewable.

“We can monitor the spot price, when it goes above 20c it’s burning gas, and above 30c it’s coal. We aim to give power back to the grid when it’s not renewable, and factor in 90g of carbon per hour that you take from the grid. So theoretically we aim to lower our grid emissions so we can balance that out.”

It’s been more expensive than a fossil-fuelled set up, but grants from EECA, AGMARDT, and MPI totalling $120,000 helped secure the groundbreaking new tech.

All of this investment has led to vastly reduced running costs and in 2021 the farm won the Sustainable Energy Association of New Zealand award for the best grid-connected system.

The energy set up saves the farm about $25,000 in yearly expenses and they expect to recoup all the upfront costs in eight or nine years.

“Not bad considering we expect our batteries to last 10 years and our solar panels to last 25 years,” Casey says.

“There’s a lot of initial investment but as fuel becomes more expensive the payback continues to come sooner,” Reuvecamp agrees.

PHOTO: Miles Holden

Premium price for low carbon produce

Increasing that return is the premium price they can command for carbon-zero cherries from consumers wanting to reduce emissions. Last season they sold cherries under the New Zealand Zero brand through Auckland boutique grocer Farro Fresh at a 15% premium - roughly an extra $3 per box.

Reuvecamp estimates that premium price could bring their payback period down to under two years when in full production. “We’ve shown through our first trial that there is consumer appetite to pay a premium for environmental benefits.”

The aim is to build a community of low-carbon growers. “We’re trying to show that this infrastructure is the way forward for the future.”

To this end they have an open door policy for other producers, as well as a blog detailing their carbon reduction journey to support other farmers to make the switch. “We want to show that what we can do is viable and realistic. It’s not to the detriment of growing - it’s actually benefiting the stonefruit. And it’s cost-effective,” Reuvecamp says.

The final piece in the electric puzzle is a new autonomous tractor being imported from California and due to arrive in time for the Summer season. It will be the first Monarch electric tractor in New Zealand.

“That’s really, really exciting,” Reuvecamp exclaims. “Second to frost fans, those are the biggest emitters in the agricultural sector.”

Monarch electric tractor.

10 kg of CO2 from aviation per kg of cherries

They are also working to reduce emissions from food miles by making sales close to home, Casey says. “As New Zealanders we are an exporting nation, but by being so isolated most of the emissions on our food are from shipping it overseas. So we’re trying to find a market of New Zealanders to buy premium quality export fruit.”

He says it takes an estimated 10 kg of carbon per kg of cherries to get the fruit to Shanghai. “It’s a massive challenge for New Zealand. How do we lower those carbon emissions when we have to export food?”

One way is by selling to Kiwis. With a soft launch of pre-sales to friends and family they have sold 300 kg of carbon-zero cherries well in advance of the cherry season. “Six months out, people are buying to support carbon reduction. We’re going with the concept that people can intercept the export fruit to save carbon,” Casey says.

New low-carbon certification

New Zealand Zero is working with AsureQuality to develop a new low-carbon certification for growers and producers, which Forest Lodge Farm is intended to be the first to receive.

Reuvecamp says the certification will have a high level of detail and a strong emphasis on actually reducing emissions, rather than just offsetting them. “If all you’re doing is offsetting then you’re still continuing to pollute. If you were a chicken farmer you wouldn’t be able to give a donation to the SPCA to continue farming caged chickens.

“We can’t just pay to push the problem sideways rather than address what we can. These changes need to be pushed forward for our children and the planet.”

He says the system does allow some offsetting “but only as a last resort”.

The certification won’t allow any on-farm fossil fuel use, and will include a tiered system preferring contractors who are working to reduce emissions. “We don’t want to be disparaging of other certifications but we wanted to go further,” Reuvecamp says.