{"id":363110,"date":"2026-04-04T07:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T07:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/363110\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T07:14:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T07:14:18","slug":"napier-port-hawkes-bay-primary-sector-awards-celebrate-farmers-growers-agribusiness-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/363110\/","title":{"rendered":"Napier Port Hawke\u2019s Bay Primary Sector Awards celebrate farmers, growers, agribusiness professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pair follow in the footsteps of 2025 recipients Central Hawke\u2019s Bay farmers Simon and Lou White<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Primary Sector Awards chairman Grant Charteris said the calibre of this year\u2019s winners highlighted the strength of the sector. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stands out is not just performance, but the mindset behind it \u2013 a willingness to improve, to lead and to back the future of the sector. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are people making a real difference, both within their own businesses and across the wider industry.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Hastings District Council <\/a>Primary Sector Industry Leader Award was presented to John Bostock<\/a>, whose leadership helped shape New Zealand\u2019s organic horticulture industry and position Hawke\u2019s Bay on the global stage. <\/p>\n

The Laurie Dowling Memorial Award went to Pete Tod for his decades of service to agriculture, governance and the rural community, a contribution defined by quiet leadership and long-term impact. <\/p>\n

Innovation in the sector was recognised through the Bayleys Hawke\u2019s Bay Primary Sector Innovation Award, awarded to HEX-LOC Erosion Protection for its practical and scalable solution to infrastructure and erosion challenges. <\/p>\n

The Unison Hawke\u2019s Bay Primary Sector Professional of the Year was awarded to Chris Herries, whose career has delivered significant technical leadership and support to growers across the region. <\/p>\n

Emerging leadership was a strong theme throughout the evening. <\/p>\n

The Craigs Investment Partners Emerging Leader Award went to Emma Ractliffe, recognised for her leadership within the red meat sector and her impact in growing and strengthening Young Farmers networks across Hawke\u2019s Bay. <\/p>\n

The Gifford Devine Hawke\u2019s Bay Scholarship was awarded to Cameron Brans, a Lincoln University student whose academic excellence, leadership and sector insight signal strong future potential for the industry. <\/p>\n

Hawke\u2019s Bay A&P Society general manager Hannah Morrah said supporting the next generation remained the focus. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese awards help uncover emerging talent who will steer the sector forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to see the energy and passion coming through; we are in safe hands.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Horticentre Hawke\u2019s Bay Horticulturalist of the Year was awarded to Ng\u0101ti P\u0101hauwera Commercial Development, recognised for building a high-performing and forward-thinking horticultural business with strong commercial, environmental and community outcomes. <\/p>\n

The Pan Pac Forest Products Hawke\u2019s Bay Farm Forester of the Year was awarded to the Humphries family of Humphries Farming, whose integrated approach to forestry, environmental stewardship and on-farm value creation reflects best practice in land use. <\/p>\n

The Rural Directions Hawke\u2019s Bay Shepherd of the Year will be announced at the Silver Fern Farms Hawke\u2019s Bay Farmer of the Year Field Day. <\/p>\n

Finalists include Conor Thorman, Matthew Maxwell and Cole Price. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pair follow in the footsteps of 2025 recipients Central Hawke\u2019s Bay farmers Simon and Lou White. Primary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2246,2840,17394,10779,1561,7793,177,4189,12967,23361,1976,374,1043,3607,111,43,139,69,384,6777,29268,6177,7289,11547,12975,3608],"class_list":{"0":"post-363110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-2246","9":"tag-across","10":"tag-agribusiness","11":"tag-awards","12":"tag-bay","13":"tag-bays","14":"tag-celebrate","15":"tag-driving","16":"tag-farmers","17":"tag-growers","18":"tag-hawkes","19":"tag-innovation","20":"tag-leadership","21":"tag-napier","22":"tag-new-zealand","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-newzealand","25":"tag-nz","26":"tag-people","27":"tag-performance","28":"tag-port","29":"tag-primary","30":"tag-professionals","31":"tag-recognised","32":"tag-sector","33":"tag-were"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}