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.
That's the call from the Horticulture NZ chair Barry O'Neil who says this is needed if growers and orchardists in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti are to fully recover to pre-cyclone levels of growth within the next decade.
His remarks follow the news that the Government is investing nearly $1 billion to aid recovery from cyclone and storm damage nationwide.
O'Neil says if the recovery doesn't speed up, more businesses will be lost from the horticulture industry. He says these businesses pump upwards of a billion dollars a year into the Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti economies.
"While we are encouraged by statements that the Government wants to work with communities and industries like ours, this needs to happen as soon as possible - by June as the Government has promised - and not be a bureaucratic nightmare," he says.
O'Neil says it is not as if the Government is alone in spending heavily on the recovery. He says growers have invested millions in the recovery too, so they do not lose uninsurable biological assets like trees and vines, as well as talented and committed staff.
"What growers need now is more direction, for example, on land use, and alternative funding options if the horticulture industry is to get back to get back to pre-cyclone and Covid growth levels, and not lose what it has built up over decades. Our industry's focus is on the long-term."
O'Neil says HortNZ doesn't want to see the Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti horticulture sectors needlessly lose their competitive advantage, as that will cost the regions and the country billions in lost jobs and export revenue.
