YOUR INDUSTRY
No one is there to see you fail, and everyone is there to help
Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year Liam Sykes
Motivated young grower takes every opportunity to drive his career forward Orcharding is in the blood for Liam Sykes, but the Young Grower platform has cemented his passion and motivation to carve a long-term future in horticulture. With his horticulture roots extending back 100 years in the Bay, it was natural progression for Liam to follow in his family’s footsteps. His ’handson’ orcharding career started in 2013 and last year he was runner-up at the 2021 Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year competition. No small feat.
improvement. All the eight stations were interactive, and provided me with a realistic approach to how to conduct business in a day-to-day orchard scenario. One of the things I won’t forget is how extremely helpful everyone was throughout the day. No one is there to see you fail, and everyone is there to help,” Liam says.
“It may sound cliché, but the competition is such a great platform to showcase your knowledge, but also find out where you may need some
The Young Grower of the Year platform has a rich and long history in Hawke’s Bay. The inaugural competition was held in 2005,
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The ORCHARDIST : MAY 2022
developed by industry steward Leon Stallard. The concept originated from a need to support and encourage young horticulturists to progress a career in the industry. Seventeen years on, the competition is going from strength to strength and now spans six regions. The annual competition is coordinated by Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association as part of its mission to acknowledge, develop and retain young people employed in the fruit
