HortNZ Opens Applications for 2026 Leadership Programme Scholarships
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) is inviting applications for scholarships places on its 2026 Leadership Programme.
Auckland-based marketing manager Bernadine Guilleux has joined the Horticulture New Zealand board.
Guilleux was one of the two directors elected by HortNZ members; sitting director Mike Smith was re-elected. Four candidates contested two vacant roles on the board.
Guilleux, marketing manager at Balle Bros in Auckland, is the only female member of the board.
HortNZ chairman Julian Raine says Guilleux has been “immersed in horticulture since childhood and has an impressive CV, including international qualifications, will bring a new perspective to the board”.
"We are conscious the board was all male, so it was great to see three women put their names forward for this election, with Bernadine being successful.
"The board’s goal is that its membership embraces the diversity of Horticulture New Zealand’s grower members."
Horticulture New Zealand represents over 5,000 commercial fruit and vegetable growers who employ about 60,000 people, making a significant contribution to New Zealand’s economy.
Smith has been involved in the kiwifruit industry for 20 years and currently grows kiwifruit in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga. He has been a Horticulture New Zealand director since 2015. He is focused on levy payers getting value for their levy.
As the Agri Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) begins the process of winding down, the organisation’s general manager Julia Jones says there’s still a place for its programmes within the industry.
Southland farmers staring down a May deadline to submit freshwater farm plans under current regional plan rules have been given an 18-month reprieve by the Government.
The Meat Industry Association (MIA) has appointed Nick Beeby as chief executive.
Rural Women New Zealand this month submitted on the Draft Mental Health and a Wellbeing Strategy 2026-2036, because a person's postcode should not determine the quality of their mental health support.
Former head of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Peter Chrisp is the new director-general of the Department of Conservation.
The New Zealand Nature Fund (NZNF) has congratulated the government on recently announced changes to the Active Investor Plus (AIP) Visa Growth category.