Inspiring young fruit growers
There isn’t much that Covid hasn’t affected in the last 16 months but in spite of the ongoing challenges one young group of horticulturists have revived the Hawke’s Bay Young Orchardists Group.
Originally founded by Graeme Hodges, Ben James, Gaz Ingram and Chris Treneman in 2015, the group now has a new committee of six young people dedicated to the development and growth of the horticulture sector in Hawke’s Bay.
Revitalising the group was an idea hatched during this year’s Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower Competition when a group of people, including Meg Becker of T&G Global and Jack Wilson of AgFirst were having a yarn.
Both Meg and Jack, who gained degrees in horticulture from Massey University, see great value in bringing together like-minded people who want to network and are keen to learn more about the horticulture industry.
“We aim to provide a networking platform for young orchardists from around the Hawke’s Bay region across multiple different sectors. This is a great opportunity for the next generation to get to know each other, and learn from each other’s experiences in the industry,” says Jack.
The first grower meet, hosted by N.P. Vesty, was held at the end of July and was very well attended. Participants were given demonstrations of various pruning techniques for Envy trees on 793 and M9 rootstocks.
“We have a huge amount of support from industry, and we couldn’t do it without our key support network – Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrower’s
Association, product supply companies, growers and other industry personnel who provide sausages, prizes and information for us to share,” says Meg. AgFirst is also on hand to provide advice.
Jack says it’s important to visit new places and learn techniques people mightn’t be exposed to in their own jobs. Networking is also a key aspect, as is learning from experienced growers along with some robust discussion. “It’s great having a platform where you can get young people challenging each other, where no question is a bad question, giving them, a platform where they can speak up.”
The idea behind the activities and presentations is to appeal to a wide range of workers whether experienced or just starting
their careers. An interesting bunch of people attend including orchard managers, technical consultants, owner operators, in fact anyone interested in the industry. The plan is to run 8 to 10 events a year (Covid permitting) and they
are usually topical to the season. They also aim to have a key speaker from the Hawke’s Bay fruit industry at each of the events.
Both Meg and Jack believe that a broad education of the industry and networking with like-minded people can only benefit horticulture in the long run and will hopefully inspire more young people to join the industry.
Anyone interested in joining or finding out more about the group is encouraged to join on their Facebook and/or Instagram page, Hawkes Bay Young Orchardists or email jack.wilson@agfirst.co.nz.