Orepuki eco-farming inventor Grant Lightfoot has taken his edible bale netting to the world — including British royalty.
Mr Lightfoot introduced his award-winning eco invention to Prince William during the prince’s surprise visit to the United Kingdom’s regenerative agriculture festival; Groundswell, this week.
A festival official had organised for Prince William to stop at Mr Lightfoot’s stall because he was the stall holder that had travelled the furthest.
After a quick chat with one of the prince’s team, who had already heard about the edible bale netting, Mr Lightfoot stood at his stall ready for the prince’s arrival.
"I had my card in my hand and my brochure ready ... "
However, after speaking on stage, the prince headed off in another direction.
"He had six security guards, and the crowd. There was just thousands of people around. And me being me, I just bee-lined for him and stopped him. And before the security guys could get a word in, I started talking about my edible bale net."
The prince, as the eldest son of the reigning British monarch, inherited the Duke of Cornwall title and estates, becoming custodian of 52,172ha of land across 19 counties.
"It was so funny. Everyone just [did] a complete U-turn and came straight over to see me and my bale."
During a brief chat with the prince, he explained the benefits of the wrap and how it could be eaten by stock animals and saved the environment.
"I spoke to him like he was just another guy, and he spoke to me the same way. He took my business card, my brochure and said, ‘we’ll be in contact’."
A video taken of the meeting and shared on social media platforms had gone viral, Mr Lightfoot said.
Two days before Groundswell, the Southland farmer decided on an unscheduled early morning stopover at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddley Squat farm.
But he initially took a wrong turn into Mr Clarkson’s neighbour’s property.
"So, I went up there and got talking to the film guy — they were just about to start filming.
"He said, ‘you know you’re trespassing, blah blah blah’.
"I said, ‘no, I didn’t know that. I thought I’d just drive up and say g’day."
"Once I told him who I was, the attitude changed."
The show’s producer expressed an interest in featuring Kiwi Econet on Mr Clarkson’s show sometime in the future.
Mr Lightfoot, who had been travelling through Europe promoting the product, is continuing his promotional tour in the United States before returning to Southland.
The new product had made "the world an oyster", he said.
"People cannot believe what I’ve got, because everyone hates plastic."
Farmers already producing baleage were able to use their existing machinery.
"So that’s another big bonus as well."
He had fielded global inquiries, including from Switzerland, Europe and Chile, and expects to be able to meet demand.
The edible bale netting, made of jute yarn, is manufactured and shipped from India.
— Toni McDonald
