Could peanuts be Northland's next big crop?
It might be peanuts for now, but coffee, pineapples and tropical jackfruit could all be part of Northland's future food basket. The Ministry of Primary Industries has teamed up with the makers of Pic's Peanut Butter to trial growing peanuts in three spots near Ruawai, Dargaville and the Kai Iwi Lakes district, with MPI investing almost $60,000 in the project. Pic's imports its nuts, but that could change if the feasibility study shows commercial peanut crops are viable up North. The test crops went into the ground in October. Declan Graham from Plant and Food Research is managing the trial. He told Checkpoint why Northland could be peanut paradise.