Working party meets on common ground

Working party meets on common ground

An opportunity to learn from industry experts and experience a cross section of business in the horticultural industry brought together six of the country’s top young horticulturists to a training forum at Bayer New Zealand’s head office in Auckland, in May.(15th & 16th).

The forum, hosted by Bayer, Fruitfed Supplies and Turners & Growers, featured guest speakers leadership development consultant Lesley Slade and Samantha McGuire, Business Banking Manager, National Bank.

Speakers Holger Detje, Country Manager Bayer and Richard Bawden, National Manager, Fruitfed Supplies, each provided overviews of their business innovations and the range of services that support growers. A visit was also made to Status Produce’s sites at Tuakau and Mangere and Colin Lyford, General Manager of Status Produce, provided an overview of Turners and Growers business activities.

2010 Young Horticulturist of the Year finalists: amenity gardener Leigh Cornes of Hamilton and Whanganui arborist Marc Higgie joined 2011 overall competition winner grower/manager Ben Smith of Pukekohe and 2011 finalists, Mt Albert landscape foreman Paul Southan, Whenuapai nursery production manager Michael Scott and Gibbston Valley vineyard manager Nick Paulin, for the two-day event.

Nick Paulin, of Peregrine Wines, said the forum offered him a wider understanding of the horticultural industry and identified areas of common ground.

“In the wine industry and in particular as viticulturists, we tend to be totally specific in what we do,” said Nick. “We don’t have many opportunities like this to see where our industry issues crossover with others.”

Ben Smith, produce manager for the speciality tomato grower Status Produce based at Tuakau, says although horticulture is a great lifestyle career, he knows it is not just about planting and harvesting.

“Young industry members, especially those looking to leadership roles, must be aware of industry trends and concerns, for example, around sustainability, which was covered at the forum by Bayer. And as Status is a listed company, I was particularly interested in the talk by banker Samantha McGuire, on managing risk in the rural sector.”

The forum was organised by the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition organisers, the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (RNZIH) Education Trust.

Elenka Nikoloff, the coordinator for the competition, said the forum reinforced the competition’s objective to expose successful participants to a wider range of information and activities that they would normally not experience during their working day.

“The horticulture industry needs young leaders who are practical all-rounders willing to contribute to the future of the industry. They can only do this by widening their knowledge and networking with key people. This forum provided a platform whereby our past achievers made new contacts and learnt a lot about the growing industry as a whole.

“The sponsor representatives from Bayer, Fruit Fed Supplies and Turners & Growers provided valuable advice and knowledge. Encouraged by feedback from the participants the companies are keen to make it an annual event.”

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