Top Bay fruit grower named

Erin Atkinson receives her award from Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller.

Erin Atkinson, 29, a technical adviser for Apata Group in Te Puke, has been named the Bay of Plenty's 2017 Young Fruit Grower of the Year.

The runner-up award went to Danni van der Heijden, 23, from Trevelyan's Pack & Cool, making it the first time in the competition's history that women have taken the first two places. Aaron Wright, 26, from EastPack, was awarded second runner-up.

After a day-long competition recently at the Te Puke Showgrounds, which saw six competitors battle it out in a series of practical and theoretical challenges, they came together at a gala dinner at ASB Stadium on Wednesday evening for a final face-off, which included a speech and quiz competition.

Ms Atkinson was awarded a cash prize of $1500 and an all-expenses paid trip to compete for the national 2017 Young Grower of the Year title in August.

"I'm looking forward to competing at the national final and will be stepping up my preparation over the next few weeks."

Mike Chapman, chief executive of Horticulture New Zealand, which runs the national competition, said the event developed skills and fostered leadership.

"It's an important part of retaining top talent in horticulture, which is a rapidly growing industry making a significant contribution to New Zealand's economy."

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller, who judged the speech competition with Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chairman Doug Brown, encouraged competitors to seek out mentorship from those with experience in the horticultural industry.

"There is an extraordinary number of people with an enormous amount to give," he said, adding that the true success of the industry came from the marriage of those experienced in both the science and the art of growing.

Kate Longman, chairwoman of Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower Upskilling Incorporated, said it had been fantastic to see so many organisations recognise the benefits of the competition.