increase font size
2021 BOP Young Grower winners, left to right: Emily Woods, Bryce Morrison, and Quintin Swanepoel.
Bryce Morrison has been named Bay of Plenty’s Young Grower for 2021 at an awards dinner in Tauranga.
The competition took place 22 July at Mount Maunganui College, where eight competitors tested their skills and ability to run a successful orchard in a series of challenges. These were followed by a speech competition at a gala dinner.
Morrison, a grower services representative at Seeka, excelled in individual challenges, and impressed judges with his speech.
Emily Woods came in second, while Quentin Swanepoel was third.
Erin Atkinson, chair of BOP Young Growers, says that the calibre of this year’s contestants has made the 2021 event special.
“The contests of this year’s BOP Young Grower competition have shown great potential for strong careers in the horticulture industry. The competition is the perfect environment to put their knowledge on display and it’s reassuring that we have such young talent coming through our industry.”
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. (NZKGI) chief executive Colin Bond says these competitions are important to highlight the skills and careers associated with the horticulture industry.
“Horticulture is undergoing rapid change such as regulation and the make-up of the labour force. It is critical that we have skilled talent with careers in the industry to lead a pathway forward. The 2021 BOP Young Grower competition is an illustration of not only the careers available but that some of our young and upcoming people will hold the industry in good stead.”
Morrison will go on to compete in the national Young Grower of the Year competition, run by Horticulture New Zealand.
The former chair of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and farmer, Doug Leeder, says rural communities' biggest fear right now is the lack of long-term certainty over environmental regulations.
If there was a silver lining in the tragedy that was Cyclone Gabrielle, for New Zealand Young Grower of the Year, Grace Fulford, it was the tremendous sense of community and seeing first-hand what good leadership looks like.
The 2025 Young Grower of the Year, Phoebe Scherer, says competing with other finalists felt more like being among friends.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
OPINION: The Greens have taken the high moral ground on the Palestine issue and been leading political agitators in related…
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact…
