Now the Pukekohe 28o-year-old with an applied science degree majoring in horticulture from Massey University is motivated to find exciting varieties of vegetables, particularly potatoes.
“Potato consumption is declining, and I want to find new varieties of potatoes for people to eat.
“I get a tremendous reward from watching the flow of produce from the seed all the way through to the pack house and eventually to a satisfied customer.”
His idea for the Agmardt Market Innovation Project was Leased.co.nz – a website for the horticultural sector to let people with land to connect with those who want to lease land.
He believes access to land will ultimately help more people connect with horticulture careers.
“The variety in day to day jobs is so different you could say I get to work different jobs depending on the weather and what day of the week it is.
“This means there are always challenges to keep you from getting bored and also allows you to finish most days feeling like you have achieved something,” he said.
"It’s still sinking in that I’ve won, it’s really great.
“It’s definitely the next step on from Young Grower and the preparation needed was even higher.
“The calibre of people in this competition was incredible. In this kind of competition you can’t make a half attempt; you have to give it your all.
"I’m going kayak fishing in Northland for the next few days. When I’m back I’ll see where the opportunities take me but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
“There’s a lot of new technology coming and new crop varieties. That’s where my interests lie,” he said.
Employer Brent Wilcox said competitions such as this gave bright, young talent the chance to stretch themselves and plan for their future.
"We are very proud of Andrew’s achievement.
“His past experience in pack house management and now developing his technical growing knowledge means he has a broad skill base and will continue to be an asset to the industry in the future.”
Hutchinson, who works as a technical support adviser at AS Wilcox and Sons, was the winner of the Young Grower of the Year in July and represented Horticulture New Zealand in the competition.
Along with four other finalists, he demonstrated his skills in the grand final competition over two days at the Auckland Botanic Gardens.
He also won the T&G Best Practical Activities Award, the Fruitfed Supplies Leadership Award, the Primary ITO Career Development Award and the Countdown Best Speech Award. He came second in the Agmardt award.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Mike Chapman said Hutchinson had a bright future and exemplified the capability of young people in today’s rapidly growing horticultural industry.
"The aim of the competition is to foster excellence among young people in horticulture and future-proof the horticultural industry. It is heartening to see so many young, talented horticulturalists who will be our industry leaders of the future.”
"There was some amazing talent on display but Andrew just rose above.
“His win is well deserved and he serves as a fantastic example of what horticulture represents.
“I expect him to serve as inspiration for other young people both in and out of the industry and let them see what horticulture is really like."
Auckland based (originally Christchurch) and representing
Amenity Horticulture finalist Jeanette Barker, 25, from Auckland took second place with third going to landscape sector finalist Paul Southan, 29, also from Auckland. Barker was first in a Agmardt award with an app to help people select the right plant for the right place.
The Bayer Best Practice Award went to Cameron Price of Hastings, representing NZ Winegrowers.
