News » 01.07.2025 - NZPPI announces winner of Young Plant Producer 2025
Jake Linklater from the Nova Trust nursery, Nova Natives in Templeton, has been named as the 2025 Young Plant Producer of the Year.
This award, presented at the awards dinner in Christchurch, celebrates dedication and innovation in the plant production industry.
The Young Plant Producer event tests competitors on the skills needed to run a successful nursery. It is organised by NZPPI, hosted by IPPS (International Plant Propagators' Society) and supported by the Horticentre Charitable Trust as well as many other generous sponsors.
This week the five finalists undertook two days of challenges at Lincoln University, where they were tested on their skills in finance and dispatch, biosecurity, plant propagation and identification, tool maintenance, agrichemical use and irrigation. The judges looked for individuals who could make a real difference in the industry, going beyond great skills to also include leadership and passion for plant production.
Jake Linklater
All the contestants performed extremely well and it was a close call between all five but Jake was able to take out the top spot. He is the nursery manager at Nova Natives, which is a social enterprise and operates alongside the Trust's addiction treatment and recovery programmes. Working in the nursery helps prepare the Trust's service-users for life beyond treatment, through the development of life and employment skills.
Jake's role as a young leader in the plant production industry is one he takes seriously and wants to develop further.
"Over the next few years I hope to become a better and more natural leader. We have significant development potential here at the Nova Trust nursery and I would like to build a team who are passionate to learn about plants and the industry."
Along with the Young Plant Producer trophy, Jake has won a 12-month programme of mentorship support plus a $4000 fund to advance his career in plant production. He will also take part in the Young Horticulturalist of the Year award in November where he will compete against finalists from the entire horticulture industry, vying for a prize pool worth more than $20,000.
The other Young Plant Producer 2025 finalists included first runner-up Kirsten Phillips-Ong from Plant and Food Research in Waipapa, Northland, and second runner-up Johnnie Clay from Southern Woods Nursery in Christchurch. Additional finalists were Ezra Alexander from GreenAir in Auckland and Yuong Chaiyaklang from Tui Downs in Kerikeri.
Source: www.floraldaily.com
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