Tauranga lab manager Phoebe Scherer crowned Young Grower of the Year

“It was a very high calibre field of competitors, and everyone did so well. I could not have asked for a better cohort to have shared such a great experience with,” she says.

“In some ways, it didn’t feel as if we were competing because we were all so supportive of one another – it was more like being among friends, all going out there to take on the challenges and do our very best.

“Thank you to the organisers - a big shout out to Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) - to the sponsors and all the people who are part of making Young Grower such a great event.”

Scherer, technical lab manager at Apata in Tauranga, is also the Bay of Plenty regional champion. She competed against six other regional winners in a series of challenges at Lincoln University in Christchurch on September 10-11.

Scherer says she thoroughly enjoyed stepping up to the many challenges.

“The science and technical modules were my ‘safe space’ but others I found much more challenging, particularly the machinery section. We had to drive a big tractor along a GPS line. It was the biggest piece of equipment I have ever stepped into but we were very well supported.”

Read More:

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Scherer gained an evolutionary biology degree and did an OE before taking a job in the kiwifruit industry in Tauranga seven years ago.

That led to a laboratory job and ongoing career progression. She joined Apata, a specialist service provider for New Zealand kiwifruit and avocado growers, last year.

The Young Grower competition celebrates the success of young people in the industry as well as encouraging others to consider a career in horticulture.

Runner up was Steven Rink, the Canterbury regional champion, who is a production manager for Oakley’s Premium Fresh Vegetables in Southbridge.

Third spot went to Amelia Marsden, representing Nelson, who is a kiwifruit manager at Willisbrook Orchards in Brightwater.

Happy Runner-Up

Runner-up Steven Rink, the production manager of Oakley’s Premium Fresh Vegetables, Southbridge is originally from Cape Town, South Africa and studied conservation ecology at the University of Stellenbosch. He came to New Zealand in December, 2019, for what was intended to be a gap year, until he found himself “pleasantly locked down” because of Covid.

“I ended up at Oakley’s Vegetables, got stuck in there, hands-on, and learnt everything I know there,” he told Rural News.

His plans to continue travelling fell by the way, and Rink is now settled with a long-term partner, and “very happy where I am.”

“I am enjoying the opportunities that I had, the knowledge I was learning, the growth that I was experiencing individually and professionally.”

Rink said that when he learned of the Canterbury regional competition, Oakley’s managing director, Robin Oakley, was keen for him to enter because it was his only opportunity because of the age limit.

Not knowing what to expect, Rink said he went in blind but found it a very fun experience with lots of learning.

“The key takeaway was that you get pigeonholed in our roles.

“As the production manager, I focus on the on-farm, the tractor driving, the quality of growing the crop, the irrigation.

“Then having to actually sit back, lift your head up and go ‘oh there’s marketing, there’s the business aspect side of it’. Having to do all of that, be exposed to it - not even doing it in real life but just having to start thinking of it - has been fun and awesome.”

For the Innovation Award, Rink presented a proposal for an AI-integrated chemical shed that monitored everything going in and out to give an up-to-date live inventory.

He said he had received a lot of encouragement to make it a reality because keeping track was currently his “Achilles heel” and such a system would be a game changer for the company.

Oakley’s staple crops are potatoes, broccoli, pumpkin, beetroots, and some cereals, with the likes of grass seed and peas to complete the rotations. In the interests of diversification they also tried a crop of quinoa last season and will do it again, said Rink.