Maddi Sheridan wins 2026 Hawke’s Bay Young Fruitgrower title

Maddi Sheridan has won the Hawke’s Bay 2026 Young Fruitgrower regional title.

Maddi, Quality and Compliance Manager - Growing at T&G Global, pitched her skills against seven fellow contestants to take the title on 19 June.

She will now go on to compete against six other regional winners in the national Young Grower of the Year competition in Cromwell on August 27–28.

Maddi, aged 26, initially planned to go into farming, joining the primary industry course at her high school in Hawke’s Bay and going on to study for an agri commerce degree at Massey University.

“Then in my first year I was awarded a T&G scholarship, which led to me working at T&G in my summer and winter holidays,” she says.

“I really enjoyed it and then the university brought back the Horticultural Science degree and six of my eight papers crossed over, so I was easily able to make the change to that in my second year.

“I carried on working at T&G and got a permanent job with the technical team when I graduated. I work out of the offices at Whakatu but I am out and about a lot over T&G’s 600 hectares of orchards across the region.

“I enjoy the people and the range of work you get to do at T&G. There is a very wide range of projects and you have a lot of freedom to choose the kind of work you want to do.

“T&G has a really good, very supportive culture. They really want everyone to do well and achieve the very best they can.

“I have done a lot of on the job training and also took part in T&G’s emerging leaders programme, which was very beneficial and helps those who want to grow their careers.”

Maddi says she sees the regional and national Young Grower competitions as an important part of the sector’s drive to highlight the many different career opportunities available.

“It shows that there is more to the industry than just picking, pruning and thinning. All those things are important but often people see horticulture as just those jobs when, in reality, there is so much more to it.

“The competition itself is really fun. I was super nervous going into it - and all the others said they were too. The practical challenges, like driving a digger and building a pallet, really help you get past the nerves though.

“All the competitors were super supportive and everyone wanted everyone else to do well so it was a great environment.”

Maddi’s advice for young people considering a career in the sector is to “one  hundred per cent give it a go”.

“One of my fellow competitors told me she didn’t think she’d like the work when she started but she stuck with it and grew to love it. There is much more opportunity to the industry than people think.

“I was lucky to be involved with the Hawke’s Bay Hort Day Out this year. That showcases modern technology and career pathways in the sector for young people and it was a very cool day, demonstrating everything from robotics to packhouse operations.”

Runner up for the regional Young Fruitgrower title was Joseph Stenberg, who also works for T&G Global as a block lead. Third place was shared jointly by Saffron Riley from Mr Apples Brookfields orchard, and William Horsefield,  an orchard foreman at Ceed in Waipawa.

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 commercial 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 and energy to make the Young Grower regional competitions happen. The competition simply wouldn’t happen 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.”