Phoebe Scherer wins Bay of Plenty Young Grower 2025 title
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
It was the women who dominated at the 2022 Bay of Plenty Young Grower of the Year competition earlier this week, taking out first, second and third place.
Laura Schultz from Trevelyans was named the first place winner, taking home a prize package which includes an all-expenses paid trip to Wellington to compete for the National Young Grower of the Year title as well as $1,500 cash.
The competition took place on 20 July at Mount Maunganui College, where eight competitors tested their skills and ability to run a successful horticulture business in a series of challenges. These were followed by a speech competition titled ‘What I’ll be growing in 2050’, at a gala dinner.
Schultz excelled in the individual challenges, and impressed judges with her speech on providing the best quality produce by adapting to climate change to grow crops which meet the changing environment.
Yanika Reiter came in second place, while Emily Woods was third.
Schultz grew up on her family orchard in the Bay of Plenty. After a diverse career across different countries that has included studying fashion design, yoga instruction, and working as a snowboard instructor, she returned home three years ago and realised her interest lay in growing avocados.
Since then, she ha leased the family orchard and now takes full responsibility for it, alongside her work with the avocado improvement group at Trevelyans.
Erin Atkinson, chair of BOP Young Growers says this year’s contestants were outstanding.
“This year’s BOP Young Grower contestants have shown the great talent we already have within our horticulture industry,” Atkinson says.
“The competition has been perfect to test their knowledge and I hope that it sets the bar for other young talent coming through our industry.”
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. (NZKGI) chief executive Colin Bond says that competitions like the Young Grower of the Year show appreciation for the need for skilled careers in the horticulture industry.
“As a horticulture industry, we can focus on knee-jerk reactions required for the current season. But in order to continue to produce effectively into the future, we need to ensure we have young people with the right commercial, technical and scientific skills.
“The 2022 BOP Young Grower competition is a great way to celebrate the high calibre of people coming through the industry to make us future fit.”
The Innovation Awards at June's National Fieldays showcased several new ideas, alongside previous entries that had reached commercial reality.
To assist the flower industry in reducing waste and drive up demand, Wonky Box has partnered with Burwood to create Wonky Flowers.
Three new directors are joining Horticulture New Zealand’s board from this month.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) says proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will leave the door wide open for continued conversions of productive sheep and beef farms into carbon forestry.
Federated Farmers says a report to Parliament on the subject of a ban on carbon forestry does not go far enough to prevent continued farm to forestry conversions.
New Zealand Apples and Pears annual conference was a success with delegates and exhibitors alike making the most of three days of exhibitions, tours, insightful discussions, valuable networking and thoughtful presentations.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is…
OPINION: There's an infamous term coined by a US general during the Vietnam war, specifically in reference to the battle…