Hawkes Bay man wins Young Vegetable Grower of the

Hawkes Bay man wins Young Vegetable Grower of the Year ]

Gareth Holder from Hastings was named New Zealand’s Young Vegetable Grower of the Year last night in Christchurch.

Gareth has been involved in the vegetable industry for the last six years and currently works for Abron Ltd as a field consultant.

Gareth wins a trip to Australia to visit Australian vegetable producers and now has the opportunity to compete for the prestigious national Young Grower of the Year title in August.
Gareth also won the best practical and project work category.

“It’s a real honour and achievement to win the Young Vegetable Grower; I’ve worked hard to get where I am and winning the title, makes all those long hard days even more worthwhile. I’m really looking forward to competing for the national Grower title later in the year.”

Second place went to Paul Olsen from Rangitikei and Rob Cox from Pukekohe finished in third.

The competition involved several elements, all testing essential skills a successful grower needs to run a business, including; driving a tractor, assembling an irrigation system, grading vegetables, identifying plants and diseases and even writing an application for resource consent.

Graham Martin, the competition co-ordinator, says that the national grower competition gives young horticulturists an opportunity to showcase their skills outside of the work environment.
“It gives recognition to the wide range of skills growers need to learn to be the best in their field. These competitions help celebrate excellence in an informal way. Gareth is a prime example of the high standard of young vegetable growers we have in New Zealand today,” he says.

The event was held in Christchurch, on May 13 at the Riccarton Racecourse and is the fifth Young Vegetable Grower of the Year event since the first competition held in 2005.

ENDS

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