I’m looking forward to seeing many of you this week at the various events taking place in Central Otago. These include the Teviot Valley grower shed meeting, the SummerGreen meeting in Alexandra, the wellbeing workshop with Sir John Kirwan and the Young Grower of the Year Central Otago gala dinner. Details of all these events can be found on our events page by clicking below.
The Central Otago Young Grower of the Year competition will be particularly exciting, with eight young people involved in the summerfruit and apple sectors putting themselves forward this year. It’s a great opportunity for them to showcase their skills. In the words of Jordan Carroll, the 2021 winner of Central Otago Young Grower of the Year, “I was lucky enough to be put through a raft of professional development, including being able to compete at the national event. I applaud the contestants for stepping up and testing themselves and wish them all the best of luck”.
I wholeheartedly agree with Jordan that it’s an awesome experience for those just starting their horticultural careers – best of luck to all the contestants!
In other news, the Horticulture Industry Collective (with CEs from HortNZ, NZ Apples & Pears, NZ Kiwifruit Growers, Summerfruit NZ, NZ Winegrowers, and NZ Ethical Employers) met last Friday for a half-day discussion on a shared labour framework to support the growth of the New Zealand horticulture and viticulture sector. We discussed what success looks like (collectively and for the different sectors/organisations); who is doing what and why; what it will take to meet objectives and how best to play to our strengths, including ensuring our individual strategies and work programmes are aligned.
We also discussed the RSE conference being planned for late July – Voice of the Pacific. More information will come out about this soon.