Record number of contestants for Gisborne Young Grower

By Andrew Bristol

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The organisers of the Gisborne Young Grower of the Year competition had to turn contestants away, for the first time in the competition’s history.

“While that’s a great position for the competition to be in, it is also pretty disappointing for the hopeful contestants who missed out,” says organiser, Scott Wilson, general manager at Kaiaponi Farms Ltd.

“But the logistics of the 10 competition modules dictate that we can only accommodate 10 contestants on the day. We did however, provide training exercises for potential 2022 contestants so they could gain some experience and have some fun.”

On Thursday 8 July contestants had a cool start to the morning, but Gisborne turned on the sun and a blue sky with no wind for the rest of the day. “The competition was close and came down to the speeches, which were given at the awards dinner that night,” says Scott. “Around 200 people attended the dinner at the Vineyard Restaurant. This was also a great opportunity for people from across the horticulture sector in Gisborne to catch up and celebrate the positivity of our young leaders in what has been a challenging 12 months.” The winner on the night was Jamie McIntyre, 25, an orchard hand at Illawarra Farms.

“What a day and I’m really stoked,” said Jamie. “This is the best job you can have. I love what I do as growing is such a fantastic lifestyle choice. I am passionate about growing and want to share what happens on our orchards, so more people can have a slice of the lifestyle that we can all lead.”

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1 Winner of the 2021 Gisborne Young Grower of the Year competition, Jamie McIntyre 2 A record number of contestants competed in this year’s Gisborne Young Grower competition, putting their horticultural skills and knowledge to the test

Jamie will represent the Gisborne growing community in the national Young Grower of the Year competition in Wellington on 22–23 September, where he and six other regional finalists will compete for their share of $30,000 worth of prizes.