Lydia Goodman named Central Otago Young Grower of the Year 2025
Lydia Goodman has been crowned the Central Otago 2025 Young Grower of the Year regional winner.
St John, who works for Fortune Fruit in Cromwell, pitched his skills against three fellow finalists to take the title at the event at Otago Polytechnic on 22 May.
He also won the speech competition.
He will now go on to compete against six other regional winners in Horticulture New Zealand's national Young Grower of the Year competition in Cromwell on August 27-28.
From University Student to Orchard Management
Aged 24, St John is originally from Dunedin.
He started working in the packhouse for Fortune Fruit in the in the 2019-2020 season while studying for a degree in botany and ecology at the University of Otago.
"I did that for three years and joined Fortune Fruits full time as soon as I finished my degree," he says.
Building Skills Through Hands-On Experience
"There has been a lot of on-the-job learning and I am also now studying for the Level 4 New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Production.
"It's a fun career to be in. I really enjoy the variety of work. It's constantly changing over the growing seasons and then, at harvest, we get an influx of people from all over the world. You get to meet such interesting people and learn so much from them."
Second Central Otago Young Grower Victory
This was the second time St John has won the Central Otago Young Grower title - he was also the winner in 2024 - but he says he was still a bit nervous going into the day.
"But it was good. The modules were good and the people organising them were great and happy to answer any questions we had afterwards. Alongside the horticulture modules, the hortisports was a lot of fun and a good chance to mingle with the other contestants, who were a great group of people."
