2006 - Marcus WickhamView the 2006 - Marcus Wickham winners of the Young Horticulturist competition

Winner: Marcus Wickham (NZ Winegrowers) a national vineyard manager for New Zealand Vineyard Estates (merged with Waipara Hills Wine Estate) owned vineyards and contract growers.  He now owns a company specializing in equipment to mechanize vineyard pruning.

Second: Gareth Holder (Vegetable sector Hort NZ) cropping field manager for J.M. Bostock Ltd in Hastings. Currently a technical field consultant for Abron Ltd, in the area of biological agriculture with a focus is on soil health, fertility and plant nutrients, in the Hawkes Bay.

Third: Carl Jaunay owns and operates his standard cymbidium orchid export business from 3,000 sq metres of glasshouses in Hikurangi, Northland.

Unplaced Finalists

• Rewi Elliot, (NZ Rec Ass’n- Amenity Horticulture) is the manager at Otari Wilton’s Bush Native Botanic Garden. He is also responsible for the outdoor exhibits at Te Papa.
• Shaun Vickers (Fruit sector Hort NZ) General Manager of Heritage Farm in Cambridge, Shaun is responsible for three organic crops including 10ha of Green kiwifruit, 4ha of plums and 3ha of asparagus, along with 26ha of apples.
• Renee Amodeo (Floristry NZ Inc), Self employed. Owns and operates All that Jasmine Florist in Forrest Hill, Auckland.
• James King (Arboriculture) is a general arborist and branch safety coordinator for Treescape in Wellington.
• Erin Farrow (Landscaping NZ), a self-employed landscaper in Auckland.
• Paul Jameson (NGIA) Nursery Manager for Waimea Nurseries, Nelson