Cyclone Gabrielle lessons from Young Grower of the Year

Grace was working for T&G (Turners & Growers) Global in her home region when the cyclone ravaged Hawke's Bay in 2023 - and it was a steep, but powerful, learning curve for the quality and compliance manager.

"One of my biggest takeaways from the cyclone is the leadership within T&G - essentially the people that made sure we all held together and set us towards where we needed to be," the 28-year-old says.

"We were severely impacted and it really changed the way we worked. But we also had a sense of community. Everyone was helping out their neighbours, and our number one priority was making sure everyone was safe - let alone losing orchards and land and all of the destruction."

Growing up in a four-generation family of horticulturist - including her father Colin and three older siblings - Grace had already seen the stressful side of the business and it was partly the deterrant that resulted in her seeking out the totally different career path of engineering.

"Initially, I didn't want to get into horticulture, mainly because I'd spend time with my dad and he would be stressed about the weather, the growing season, what was going on in the orchard. You don't intend it, but that stuff comes home with you."

However, part-way through university, she realised that the family's history was also running through her veins.

"When you get our family together, it's pretty hard to stop us from talking about growing," she says.

So, Grace returned home to work on her family's Omahuri Orchard in Hastings nine years ago and has since thrown herself into the industry.

Four years ago she left the family business to start with T&G as a packhouse shift manager. Three years ago she became quality and compliance manager and is currently working in T&G's Apples business.

Grace is also part of the Hawke's Bay Women in Horticulture group - established to bring women in the sector together - and says there are so many opportunities in the horticulture industry.

"I could literally go anywhere that interests me and no two seasons or even two days are the same, which is quite exciting," Grace says.

"The change our industry has made in the past 10 years alone has been huge - the automation and technology that we have available to us now is potentially something that wasn't thought about 10 years ago. So, it's quite exciting to think about where we could be in the next 10 years.

"It's very different to how my grandfather and his dad grew and packed fruit back in their time. My nana graded cherries, and they used to just pour them all onto a big table and pull out the bad ones. With the applies, there were no colour sorters, no defects sorters. It was all packed by hand, apples were individually wrapped before they were put into boxes."

She recalls as a child taking copious amounts of fresh fruit, from almost on her doorstep, and trading it with her school mates for almost anything else.

Opportunities Galore

One thing Grace Fulford dowsn't underestimate is the opportunities, growth - and confidnece - she has had by taking part in the 2024 regional and national Young Grower of the Year competitions and is excited by what lies ahead.

"I don't want to sideline myself or just say I'll go down one specific path. I've changed my mindset in the past 12 months  - when opportunities come up, I'll just say yes, I'll make it work. Previously, I probably would have shied away from them."

She is now eagerly looking forward to taking part in the 2025 Young Horticulturist of the Year competition - even if it does mean time away from her electrician husband Jack Campbell, and their two Border Collies.

Grace will now compete in the prestigious Young Horticulturist of the Year, a competition involving six horticultural sectors, in Auckland in November.