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December 2025 Edition
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THIS EDITION Tariff removal
p7 Wools of NZ deal
p16 Reforms risk
p20 Strong outlook
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Top effort: Nova Natives nursery manager Jake Linklater is all smiles after taking out 2025 Young Horticulturist of the Year title.
Back to back for Canterbury For the second year in a row a Canterbury nursery worker has taken out the title of Young Horticulturist of the Year.
] by Kent Caddick Jake Linklater, nursery manager at Nova Natives in Templeton near Christchurch has taken top honours at the 2025 Young Horticulturist of the Year final in Karaka. His win follows on from last year’s winning effort by Amberley nursery worker Anna England in the 2024 competition. The judges for the competition, run by New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated (NZPPI) praised the 29-year-old Linklater for his high level of skill and his ability “to see things through a broad lens”. Linklater swept the awards by also claim-
ing the Sector, Sustainability and Best Practice Awards. His success follows his earlier win at the Young Plant Producer of the Year competition in June, making this a remarkable year for the talented young professional. This marks the second consecutive year a plant producer has won the prestigious title, following Anna England’s 2024 victory. His role as a young leader in the plant production industry is one Linklater takes seriously and one he 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.” It was his second time entering the competition after first competing in 2023. “I entered again as I want to challenge myself and meet other like-minded people from different parts of the industry,” Linklater said. NZPPI Chief Executive Matt Dolan said Jake has done plant producers and nursery businesses up and down the country proud. “Winning back-to-back Young Horticulturist of the Year trophies is a fantastic result that highlights the high calibre of talent in our sector.”
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