NZ Winegrowers’ finalist Caine Thompson of Hawke’s Bay will be one of eight young people competing in the grand final of this year’s NZ Horticulture Industry Organisation Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition.

During the year a series of regional and sector competitions have been held, covering all areas of the horticulture industry from viticulture to fruit growing.

The aim was to find, from each of the eight sectors, the most talented horticulturist aged under 30 years to compete at the grand final in Auckland on November 5-6. 

The Young Horticulturist competition is in its fifth year. Previous winners have included two viticulturists, a fruit export manager and a tree nursery sales manager.

For the past four years, 27-year-old Caine Thompson has been a company viticulturist at Mission Estate, Taradale. His responsibilities include managing company vineyards, liaising with contract growers and working with the company’s marketing team.

Caine’s interest in horticulture started at high school. He completed a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Postgraduate Diploma in Plant Science at Massey University. Caine entered the work force at Alpha Domus Winery, Hastings, as a vineyard hand machinery operator. He went on to spend two years at the winery as a vineyard manager before moving to Mission Estate.

Caine and his business partner, Dr Hayden Lawrence, formed Spatial Solutions, a business providing the industry with precision tools for managing vineyard variability plus pest and disease control. Caine helped develop the leafroll virus elimination project with NZ Winegrowers and Plant & Food Research.

He is a member of the Focus Research Group in Hawke’s Bay, which transfers information obtained through research to the industry and he is also the technical officer for the Gimblett Gravels Association, using his expertise to provide feedback to growers on the latest growing trends.

Caine says his next step is to get more business experience and eventually own his own winery.

The Young Horticulturist grand final is a two-day event. On day one the participants will present a marketing project sponsored by AGMARDT (Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust). The final day will be a practical one, when the sector finalists will tackle various horticultural-based challenges.

Event organiser Elenka Nikoloff says the aim of the competition is to inspire young people in the horticultural industry and to applaud those who are truly dedicated. 

“There are competitions in the different sectors, like the winegrowers and nursery and garden industry, but this competition spans the whole industry. We hope it demonstrates to school leavers that a horticultural career is not only crop growing, but it also needs expertise in everything from turf management to sales and marketing.”