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August 2025 Edition
INSIDE
THIS EDITION Dam funding boost
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Winner: Nova Natives nurseryman Jake Linklater has been crowned 2025 Young Plant Producer of the Year.
Top spot for Canterbury p36 nursery worker
Homegrown feed
Director Roadshow
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Jake Linklater from the Nova Trust nursery, Nova Natives in Templeton, has taken out the 2025 Young Plant Producer of the Year title.
] by Kent Caddick This prestigious award celebrates dedication and innovation in the plant production industry and this year is the second in a row in which the title has gone to a Cantabrian following Amberley nursery worker Anna England’s win in the 2024 competition. The Young Plant Producer event tests competitors on the skills needed to run a successful nursery.
OPTIMISM GROWS WITH SPRING AROUND THE CORNER
This year 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. The judges said all the contestants per-
formed extremely well and it was a close call between all five, but Linklater was able to take out the top spot. Linklater 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 serviceusers for life beyond treatment, through the development of life and employment skills.
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