2021 Nelson Young Grower Jonathan Bates backs horticulture careers

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2021 NELSON YOUNG

GROWER JONATHAN BATES BACKS HORTICULTURE CAREERS

Words by Anne Hardie

Contestants in the 2021 Nelson Young Grower competition

Winner of the 2021 Nelson Young Grower competition, Jonathan Bates, was planting and pruning before he left primary school, encouraged by his grandmother who instilled in him a passion for horticulture.

Jonathan’s progression up the horticulture career ladder occurred through opportunities that arose along the way rather than following a clear pathway, an area he says industry could work on.

“School leavers need a clear career progression pathway, so they know where they are going and the steps they need to take to get there,” Jonathan says.

The 28-year-old grew up in cherry and stonefruit country around Alexandra, where he gained his first insight into orcharding, picking Golden Tatura peaches during one of the school’s annual work days. Jonathan then “fell into a job” after doing summer work on a local orchard. The boss’s father, Stuart McIntosh, tapped him on the shoulder, showing him all he knew about grafting, which led to a longer-term job. “It made me see it as a career rather than just a job picking fruit,” Jonathan says.

Stuart was designing his own cultivars at the time. The orchard included cherries, stonefruit and apples, which meant Jonathan “got to have a fiddle at everything.” Eventually he got involved in a 100ha orchard development. It was on this site where he later married Sidonee in a ceremony where they turned off the irrigation 20 minutes before they exchanged vows.

When Covid-19 hit, Sidonee lost her job as a landscaper, and with few jobs on offer around Central Otago the couple needed to look for other opportunities. Jonathan found work with Birdhurst Ltd in Motueka where he has spent the past 10 months in what he thinks of as his “perfect job” as a block supervisor.

The role involves overseeing about 20 staff from apple harvest through to pruning and working the three-row sprayer which he describes as an “awesome machine” capable of covering 6ha in 45 minutes.

It’s Jonathan’s third time entering the regional Young Grower of the Year – twice in Central Otago where he

came second and third, then winning this year’s regional competition in Nelson.

“I was definitely planning on entering this year to meet people in the industry and learn region-specific aspects like the different soil structures. The soil can change five times across one block here.

“The speech was the hardest because I thoroughly despise public speaking, but it was good practice in front of 300 people.”

Jonathan spoke about how Covid-19 had impacted him personally as well as his work organisation. The pandemic prompted his move to Motueka and exacerbated the labour shortage for the industry, highlighting the need to attract people into careers rather than just part-time seasonal work.

“The people are there but we can’t seem to attract them. It’s an issue we’ve had since before I was involved.”

Being deemed essential workers during lockdown threw a positive light on the horticulture and agriculture sectors, something Jonathan hopes will help attract more people into the industry.

“It definitely helped those within the industry take pride in their roles,” Jonathan says.

“Being called an essential worker changed how you thought about your job. You knew it was important, but no-one else gave us recognition for it.

I hope it continues into the future.”

He says accommodation will have to improve in the industry to attract more people. He and Sidonee have “amazing” accommodation which made moving to Motueka that much easier. It’s part of the company’s purpose-built facility for Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) Scheme workers and other staff, with a soccer field and a volleyball court that even has Golden Bay sand on its base. But not all orchards provide adequate accommodation, and he says there are seasonal workers living in cars or vans around the country.

“An orchard should be able to accommodate all its staff. If it doesn’t pay for itself, you have to rethink what you are doing. If I couldn’t get accommodation through work, I wouldn’t have moved here.”

HortNZ chief executive, Nadine Tunley, and Nelson Young Grower organiser, Richard Clarkson (right), presented Jonathan with his award at the evening awards dinner

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