NELSON’S JONO SUTTON WINS THE 2019 YOUNG GROWER OF THE YEAR

Nelson’s Jono Sutton, 26, was announced as this year’s Young Grower of the Year at the awards dinner in Tauranga on the 2nd of October.

“This is one of horticulture’s highest achievements for a young person, so winning it is massive,” said Jono.

“Some of the past winners have gone on to do amazing things in horticulture, so to have my name next to theirs is overwhelming.” HortNZ Chief Executive Mike Chapman said the Young Grower of the Year is important because it highlights horticulture as a vibrant career for young people.

Jono proved his impressive skills and knowledge throughout the competition. As the regional Nelson finalist, he was up against six other contestants, from around New Zealand, in Tauranga.

Jono’s grandparents, who are berry and apple growers in Nelson, came to support him.

AUSTIN SINGH PUREWAL WINS 2019 YOUNG VEGETABLE GROWER OF THE YEAR AT THE YOUNG GROWER FINALS

The youngest finalist of this year’s Young Grower of the Year competition, Austin Singh Purewal, beat the field to win this year’s Young Vegetable Grower of the Year.

At only 18, Austin has managed to achieve a lot in his horticulture career already. After winning the Pukekohe regional competition, Austin was looking forward to taking part in the finals. “If you put a lot of effort in, you get lots out of it. From meeting new people to opening up my mind to opportunities within the industry, that’s what I wanted to get out of the competition. I didn’t necessarily want to win. I wanted to come out of it with more opportunities.”

Throughout the leadership panel and speech events, Austin voiced his views on the importance of diversity and encouraging young people into roles within the industry. He hoped that by entering, he has shown his peers that they can also achieve great things in the industry.

HortNZ Chief Executive Mike Chapman said that competitions like these are essential because they highlight horticulture as a vibrant career for young people. “Our $6 billion industry continues to grow in response to worldwide and domestic demand for fresh, healthy food".

Austin is part of the T&G Global Key Accounts Team, where he is involved in supporting sales going into supermarkets. Through his role he is trying to support growers as much as he can by helping them connect with customers.

SPS INNOVATION MODULE WINNER

As sponsors SPS put together an Innovation module where our Young Growers need to develop a proposal for an innovation relating to a product, process or service within the horticulture industry. They are marked on their Innovation proposal, presentation and ability to discuss and answer questions.

Every year we get so many great entries. This year the winner of our innovation award was Alex Ashe.

A technical advisor at Farmlands Te Puna, Alex applied to compete because he enjoys a challenge and saw an opportunity to develop new skills. He also wanted to promote horticulture as a career to younger generations, and felt that Young Grower was a great opportunity.