Regional winner gets ‘in-house’ advice

Jos Bell hasn’t far to go to get advice on how to do well at this month’s Young Grower of the Year competition in Auckland.

The 27-year-old, who last week won the Nelson contest, works with 2011 regional runner-up and national Young Fruit Grower of the Year titleholder, Kevin Withington, at Hoddy’s Orchard in Hope.

Mr Bell admitted he was a hard act to follow but said Mr Withington had given him a lot of encouragement and support.

Still, he would be putting in a lot of study before the final, being held during Horticulture New Zealand’s annual conference on July 23-25.

‘‘I will give it everything I’ve got and see how it goes, and treat it as a learning experience.’’

Mr Bell topped a record field of nine contestants to win the regional Young Fruit Grower competition held at his workplace. ‘‘I was very surprised. I didn’t expect to win; it’s great.’’

He won comfortably after winning seven of 12 challenges during an intense day of competition to test essential skills a successful grower needs to run a business, including assembling an irrigation system, orchard block analysis and administering first aid.

There was also a ‘‘hortisport’’ section, a quiz and a speech to complete.

Mr Bell said he did well in the tasks, such as identifying pests and disease and assessing fruit maturity, which he covered as part of his everyday job, but found the fencing and four-wheel motorbike challenges more difficult.

He put his win down to good preparation and the experience he had gained during the eight years he has worked for Hoddy’s. ‘‘For two or three weeks beforehand I spend a lot of time studying up for it.’’

Mr Bell, who spends the pipfruit season in the packhouse as part of the management group and the rest of the year on orchard tasks such as pruning and spraying, said he found the job interesting and was keen to make it a career.

‘‘I would like to get a management role or move into quality assurance and marketing.’’

For his win, Mr Bell received a trophy, $1500 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawke’s Bay to view other orchard systems.

Mr Withington said the competition gave young horticulturists an opportunity to showcase their skills.

Photo: MARTIN DE RUYTER/FAIRFAX NZ On the move: Dan Phillipps, of Wai West Horticulture, competes on a quad bike in the 2012 Nelson Young Fruit Grower competition at Hoddy’s Orchard.

Photo: PATRICK HAMILTON/FAIRFAX NZ Grading time: Nelson Young Fruit Grower title winner Jos Bell, of Hoddy’s Orchards, performs in the grading module.

Winning smile: Jos Bell won the title of Nelson Young Fruit Grower.