Friday, 04 August 2023 08:25

Future in good hands

Written by Staff Reporters

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Young Plant Producer of the Year Lydia O’Dowd.

The future of NZ’s $500 million plant production industry is in excellent hands if the talent shown by the competitors in this year’s Young Plant Producer of the Year is anything to go by.

Lydia O’Dowd, of Southern Woods nursery in Rolleston, was named the 2023 Young Plant Producer at an awards dinner in Christchurch, last month. She was one of the five finalists.

The Young Plant Producer event, formerly called Young Achiever, tests competitors on the skills needed to run a successful plant production. It is organised by NZ Plant Producers (NZPPI), hosted by IPPS (International Plant Propagators’ Society) and supported by the Horticentre Charitable Trust.

The five finalists undertook two days of challenges at Lincoln University, where they were tested on their skills in finance and dispatch, biosecurity, plant propagation and identification, tool maintenance, agrichemical use and irrigation.

The judges looked for individuals who could make a difference in the industry, going beyond great skills to also include leadership, attitude and personality.

O’Dowd is head propagator at Southern Woods nursery and is passionate about sustainability and finding alternatives to agrichemicals – such as natural insecticides. She has Certificates in NZ Horticulture in Nursery Production Level 3 & 4 and plans to complete a Diploma in Primary Industry Business Management in the future. Along with her trophy, O’Dowd won a 12-month programme of mentorship support plus a $4,000 fund to advance her career in plant production.

She will also take part in the Young Horticulturalist of the Year award in November where she will compete against finalists from the entire horticulture sector, vying for a prize pool worth more than $20,000.

“I look forward to gaining more knowledge and meeting others who are driven and passionate about hort,” she says.

Runners Up

The Young Plant Producer 2023 runners up were:

Ellen Ballantine of vegetable breeding company, Enza Zaden in Puni, Aukland
Cameron Hay of commercial plant nursery, Ardmore Nurseries in Cleveland
August Von Reiche of medicinal cannabis research and development company Helius Therapeutics in East Tāmaki, Auckland
Jake Linklater of non-profit native nursery Nova Natives in Templeton, Christchurch.

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