Celebrating the way we all work together

For 2025 national Young Grower of the Year winner Phoebe Scherer, being a rural woman is about ‘getting in there, getting amongst it all’ – and supporting one another.

“You don’t have to grow up on a farm or growing operation,” says Phoebe, a technical lab manager for Apata in the Bay of Plenty.

“You can come from any background and become a rural woman but it is the community that is all-important to attracting, supporting and retaining people with key skills.

“I think women have a unique ability to lead with real compassion and empathy compared to some of the more traditional leadership styles and increasingly women in those roles will strengthen diversity and have a very positive impact on how the industry tackles its challenges.”

Phoebe, aged 29, gained a Bachelor of Science, majoring in biology, and did her OE before taking on a seasonal job in 2018 ‘counting kiwifruit’ with Fruition Horticulture.

Fruition offered her an assistant consultant role, then promoted her to horticulture consultant and she worked for them until last year when she joined Apata, a specialist service provider for New Zealand kiwifruit and avocado growers.

She sees recruitment and retention as the biggest challenge for the industry and effective mentoring and community as essential to supporting rural women.

“I see as many women as men coming into the sector, but when I first joined, I would go to events with a male colleague and people would shake his hand but not mine. That doesn’t happen anymore.

“I’ve been very lucky to have very good role models and mentors at both Fruition and Apata.  They have conveyed their passion for the industry to me and made me passionate about it too.

“The community and friendships I have gained in horticulture have also been instrumental in me staying in the sector. We are so supportive of one another.

“For me, International Rural Women’s Day is about celebrating that and the way we all work together.”

Phoebe says she’s pleased her Young Grower title has helped highlight career opportunities in the sector.

“I’ve certainly had a lot more LinkedIn requests and tractions on my LinkedIn posts since winning.

“On the day it was me, but it could have been any of us, the competitors were all so good. I hadn’t thought much about the fact there were more female finalists than male this year but on the night of the final people were telling me how pleased they were to see so many women finalists doing so well.”