James Blair Named 2026 Young Grower National Champion
James Blair, an agronomist for AS Wilcox and the Pukekohe regional champion, has won the 2026 Young Grower national title.
Entries are now open for the competition. It was launched by HortNZ president Barry O'Neil at his organisation's AGM in Nelson recently.
The Ahuwhenua Trophy is held annually and over a three-year cycle covers dairy, sheep and beef and horticulture. The inaugural competition for horticulture was held in 2020.
The competition objective is to recognise excellence in Māori horticulture and is open to individual Māori running horticultural operations, as well as other entities - such as Māori trusts and incorporations.
O'Neil says the competition showcases the tremendous work that Māori are doing to further the industry, as well as their own iwi and whānau.
"The inaugural 2020 horticulture competition highlighted an intrinsic commitment to the whenua, awa and people," he says. "I look forward to the coming year as once again, we work together to promote passion and good practice, as the kaitiaki of Aotearoa."
Chair of the Ahuwhenua Committee, which runs the competition, Nukuhia Hadfield says in the past decade more Māori have become major investors in the horticulture sector and this has resulted in good financial returns and jobs for its people. She says there is still much more to do but is sure with the positive publicity that the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition generates, more Māori will be encouraged to become involved in the sector.
"In all major horticultural areas around the country, there is clear evidence that Māori are setting up new horticultural businesses or further developing established ones and are major contributors to a sector, which in the past year earned $6.5 billion for the economy of NZ," she says.
Hadfield is urging Māori horticultural enterprises to take the next step and showcases their operations to Aotearoa by entering this competition. She says this is a unique opportunity to demonstrate the innovation and quality, along with genuine sustainability which sits behind Māori horticultural businesses.
Entries close Friday 9 December and the finalists will be announced in February 2023. After that field days will be held in April/May and the winner will be announced at an awards dinner in Tauranga in June 2023.
