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.
More than 1000 delegates from Australia and New Zealand will attend the 3-day conference which starts in Auckland this morning with the vegetable industry's product group meetings at the Viaduct Events Centre.
The networking, educational and business building event is for the entire fresh fruit, vegetable and floral supply chain across Auckland and New Zealand.
The conference is being held in New Zealand for the first time but is run annually in the Australasian region by the Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand (PMA A-NZ).
It is based on the highly successful Fresh Connections events run by PMA in the United States and around the globe.
The Auckland conference has the theme of Innovate. Collaborate. Thrive.
Representatives are expected from Bolivia, Canada, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Norway, China and the United States – about double the number of countries from last year.
