Luke St John wins 2026 Central Otago Young Grower title

Trainee orchard manager Luke St John has won the Central Otago region 2026 Young Grower regional title.

Luke, who works for Fortune Fruit in Cromwell, pitched his skills against three fellow finalists to take the title at the event at Otago Polytechnic on 22 May. He also won the speech competition.

He will now go on to compete against six other regional winners in Horticulture New Zealand’s national Young Grower of the Year competition in Cromwell on August 27–28.

Luke, aged 24, is originally from Dunedin. He started working in the packhouse for Fortune Fruit in the 2019-2020 season while studying for a degree in botany and ecology at the University of Otago.

“I did that for three years and joined Fortune Fruits full time as soon as I finished my degree,” he says.

“There has been a lot of on-the-job learning and I am also now studying for the Level 4 New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Production.

“It’s a fun career to be in. I really enjoy the variety of work. It’s constantly changing over the growing seasons and then, at harvest, we get an influx of people from all over the world. You get to meet such interesting people and learn so much from them.”

This was the second time Luke has won the Central Otago Young Grower title – he was also the winner in 2024 - but he says he was still a bit nervous going into the day.

“But it was really good. The modules were really good and the people organising them were great and happy to answer any questions we had afterwards. Alongside the horticulture modules, the hortisports was a lot of fun and a good chance to mingle with the other contestants, who were a great group of people.

“I think the competition is really good for young people like me, both to test our skills but also to meet more people from the sector. I hadn’t really met that many people in the industry outside of Fortune Fruit.

“It’s also a great way to promote careers in the industry. I think there still isn’t a lot of awareness about the opportunities in the sector. I’d say to any young person, it is definitely a career worth investigating. Just get out there and give it a try. I find it very rewarding.”

While he’s learned a huge amount already, Luke says he’s got a lot more learning to do and his ultimate ambition is to own his own orchard.

“I would love to be able to buy an orchard one day. and whatever career steps I need to take to achieve that, I’ll do.”

Runner up was Rebecca Boyd who is an Orchard Technician with CentralPac. Third place went to Samantha Maaka, who also began her career at Fortune Fruit. Following her OE, she now works for Central Orchard Management.

The competition celebrates the success of young people in the industry as well as encouraging others to consider a career in horticulture.

Regional organisers host and run the regional competitions  independently, with Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) hosting the final in a different part of the country each year.

Entry is open to both commercial fruit and vegetable growers from across the regions, up to the age of 30.

HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott said the competitions are a highlight of the year for growers and do much to raise awareness of the high level of skill of young people in the industry and the many career opportunities it offers.

“The regional organisers put in a huge amount of their time, expertise, energy and passion for the industry to make the Young Grower regional and national competitions happen. We could not do it without them.

“They do it to recognise and celebrate the very high calibre of young people we have working in the industry and to demonstrate to others the many pathways horticulture offers into a wide range of interesting and rewarding careers.”