It is clear from the illustrations I have used that this group of people has come from an upbringing and life experience in which it is deeply ingrained that you do not get something for nothing and so it is important to be ‘doing’. By implication, retirement, as in ‘doing nothing of consequence’, is not an option. This identity related to the work ethic becomes one of the values of the field of the communities in which these people live or have their friends, and has to be demonstrated by their orchard for themselves and other people to see. The orchard has to be a symbol of hard work and disciplined caring for the wild/tidy orchardists and of extravagant ‘caring’ and nurturance for the needy orchardist. There are, however, three moral issues also implied here. First, to be a good person one has to be working/doing, living a ‘useful’ life. Second, each orchardist in their own way is striving to make the orchard ‘better’. For the wild orchardist, the orchard is better because it is under control, domesticated and no longer ‘wild’; it is doing what an orchard should be doing: producing good fruit. For the needy orchardist, the orchard is no longer needy because the orchardist has fed it and made it into a haven where everything is welcome, creating an environment that not only produces wholesome fruit but is an example of care for the environment. Finally, there is reciprocity involved. If one ‘does’, there is the expectation of a return. As a reward for making it better, the orchard has to demonstrate its response to the actions of the orchardist. By attributing agency to their orchards, orchardists are able to accept as rightfully theirs the rewards the orchards produce because the rewards are in exchange for what they have done, thus reinforcing their identities as good people living meaningful lives. This could be very important to people on the way to retirement as they supposedly exchange an old identity maintained by work in another place and context to a new one. Otherwise, who would they be?

Are these people just creating a landscape like home (Brook 2003) and/or an identity that really is the same as it was in the past but just in a new setting? Bourdieu’s theory of practice (1998) is usually seen as a theory of continuity (for example, Shucksmith and Hermann 2002; Setten 2004), but it can also help in the understanding of change (Raedeke et al. 2003:79) and identity (Adams 2006). Critics of Bourdieu consider his notion of habitus deterministic and restrictive (for example, Silber 2003), claiming that it limits an individual’s capacity to act (Widick 2003:688; Jenkins 1992:77, 272). On the other hand, proponents of Bourdieu’s approach argue that while habitus reduces possibilities for action through its deeply instilled ways of ‘practising’, many possibilities remain (Adams 2006:515). All of the orchardists in this study come from somewhere other than where they are now living. Therefore one has to ask how their past working experiences are affecting their expectations of and practices in their orchards. It is apparent that those in the ARGOS program taking up kiwifruit growing after experience in the primary sector in dairying are more likely to have a wild/tidy orchard than those from ‘the city’, who are more likely to have a needy orchard and are also more likely to take up organics. Ex-dairy farmers and some of the city folk might be happy to create an ‘industrial’ ordered environment—reflected by one of the quotes in which one person is rebelling against this concept. The kiwifruit is an exotic species—it has moved out of orchards to become classified by the Department of Conservation as a noxious weed—so it has an alien nature that people might wish to domesticate or keep suppressed and one way of doing so is to impose tidiness in a ruthless fashion. In contrast, those with urban backgrounds might be creating a less-ordered garden—for example, the same woman who is planting garden plants and shrubs in the kiwifruit orchard will encourage biodiversity but it will not look like a monoculture orchard, growing only kiwifruit.

There also appears to be a gender influence. I interviewed whoever chose to be interviewed, so in some instances there were couples and in others a single person, usually a male. Wherever there was a woman involved in the orchard work, she usually participated in the interview. Hence it seems more likely to be a couple involved in the needy orchard, whereas on the tidy orchard the woman is more likely to lead her own life and not participate in on-orchard work. Also, the emphasis placed on mowing the orchard is reflected in the literature. Some writers think there is an association between men and lawns, particularly between men and lawnmowers. In a book called The Grass is Greener: Our love affair with the lawn, Fort (2000) asserts that keeping a lawn ‘right’ is all about ‘one-upmanship: how national pride, social status, even sexual identity can be bound up in the greenness and smoothness of the grass’. He shares the view that ‘men love lawns because, like dogs, they repay love and attention’ (Woolfrey 2000). One person he consulted thought the impulse to mow lawns ‘sprang from a deeply imprinted desire to control and domesticate nature’ (cited in Woolfrey 2000). The orchardists who are planning their retirement paths see mowing the grass in the orchard as the last thing they will give up. As stated earlier, this would then be the only way in which an orchardist could stamp their identity on the orchard.

What role does meeting the audit requirements of the GlobalGAP system play in the life of these orchardists? Tidy orchardists were more likely to complain about the book work associated with this. ‘Doing’ book work was not associated with on-orchard work, whereas the needy orchardists were more likely to accept the requirements—often already associated with BioGro if they were using organic practices—but they would complain about where this paperwork doubled up. (This has since been dealt with by making this information-providing process more streamlined with less redundancy.) Perhaps book work is more acceptable to people who formerly worked in offices. Meeting audit requirements is something that everyone in the kiwifruit industry has to do so it cannot be a distinguishing feature that differentiates one orchardist from another. Hence it is less likely to have much currency except in the way that it separates out New Zealand kiwifruit in the international marketplace, which can be a source of pride for all kiwifruit growers.

So, are these people changing their identities? I suggest that these people are using kiwifruit orcharding as a medium to maintain the continuity of their identity from past lives. For example, the teacher who values learning is still able to learn, and for all, the need to do something useful is still fulfilled. The orchard (and its economic return) provides further evidence and support for this identity. The orchard also provides a form of differentiation from other orchardists. In spite of the many constraints experienced by orchardists and the fact that they all grow a similar product, there are many ways in which their orchards can differ. In other words, the constraints of ZESPRI, meeting audit scheme requirements and meeting the expectations of neighbours and communities have not limited the choices of kiwifruit orchardists in the way they relate to their orchards and the influence of this on the orchard landscape.

What are the implications of this movement of older people into the countryside, a place usually assumed to be the best for bringing up children? The demographic implications of countryside with an increasing proportion of older couples are intriguing. It raises questions about the impact of a very mobile, reasonably wealthy group of people on the local rural communities. I raise this as an issue for thought. I do not have any answers here except that it will obviously not do anything to increase the decline in the numbers of rural schools. Also, this is a group without long experience in orchards, therefore they will have greater needs for knowledge pertinent to this work. This leads nicely into the next issue.

Burton and Wilson (2006) have scrutinised the farming styles literature to develop themes which they say cover all the identified ‘types’. They came up with four:

It can be seen that the orchardists of a wild orchard are a mix of Burton and Wilson’s first and second theme and the orchardists of needy orchards fit their conservationist theme. In other work, I have identified a challenging orchard whose orchardist is entrepreneurial and likes to take risks and try new things while staying within the orchard (see Hunt and Rosin 2007). This sort of orchardist, however, is not present in this study of ‘older’, ‘new’ orchardists and this could be a source of concern. Every industry needs its entrepreneurs—the people who try things out and introduce successful practices to the mainstream. They play an important part in the resilience of the system by introducing change and being prepared to try things even if they fail. In the future, the industry will need to make sure it continues to be attractive to such people. In the meantime, the needy orchardists add resilience to the kiwifruit industry by providing ways of growing kiwifruit without chemicals and with a greater care for environmental biodiversity, and the wild/tidy orchardists are guarantors of a steady and reliable supply of quality kiwifruit. As these people are new to the industry, however, and are ready to become more knowledgeable about it, when they learn they will be learning the latest practices. As the kiwifruit industry is renowned for how quickly it is able to change, this aspect will only enhance this ability, as long as it is not in conflict with the attributes of orchards and of themselves that this group values.

Maintaining a productive orchard requires periods of intensive seasonal labour. Winter pruning, which can be carried out over a longer period than summer pruning, is often able to be done by the owners. Summer pruning needs to be done quite quickly and more frequently and fruit picking requires only a day or two at the instant when the fruit is deemed to be ready. Contractors can do the spraying. Finding labour, especially skilled labour, is already a big issue in the horticultural industry and, as working orchardists such as those described here give up more and more manual work, this will be exacerbated, particularly as the New Zealand population ages. It also, however, provides a group of people who are likely to continue working after the age of 65 so there are pluses and minuses here.