New Zealand Horticulture Conferences 2025
New Zealand Horticulture Conference 2026
The New Zealand Horticulture Conference is returning to Wellington in 2026.
Where | Takina Convention and Exhibition Centre
When | 28-29 July with a pre-registration event being held on 27 July (pre-conference RSE employer forums)
Conference programme information will be available here.
Register to attend the conference here, early bird tickets are available until midnight, 31 March.
Click here to view our 2026 Sponsorship and Exhibition Prospectus. If you're interested in partnering with us for the 2026 conference, please contact events@hortnz.co.nz.
The Young Grower of the Year is an annual competition to find the best young fruit and vegetable growers in New Zealand. The competition provides exceptional professional development and networking opportunities.
Young growers from around the country compete in regional heats, testing their knowledge and practical horticultural skills. The winners of each of the regional competitions go on to compete in the national final.
Find out more here.
The 2025 national final
Bay of Plenty technical lab manager Phoebe Scherer has won the coveted 2025 Young Grower national title. Phoebe who works for Apata in Tauranga, is also the Bay of Plenty regional champion. The 29-year-old competed against six other regional winners in a series of challenges at Lincoln University in Christchurch on September 10-11. Read about Phoebe's success here.
Other industry events
- Vegetable Big Day Out - 5 March
- Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year regional final - 15 May
- Central Otago Young Grower of the Year regional final - 22 May
- Ahuwhenua Trophy Excellence in Maori Horticulture, awards dinner - 5 June
- Fieldays (Mystery Creek) - 10 June
- Gisborne Young Grower of the Year regional final - 11 June
- Hawke's Bay Young Grower of the Year regional final - 18 June
- Bay of Plenty Young Grower of the Year regional final - 19 June
- Nelson Young Grower of the Year regional final - 19 June
- Primary Industries Summit and Awards - 23 June
Horticulture industry awards
HortNZ presents a set of awards annually to recognise outstanding contributions and achievements in New Zealand's commercial fruit and vegetable growing industry.