2029 Horticulture - Judging Process

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JUDGING PROCESS

First Round Judging

After entering, you will be contacted by the team with further information about the process, and to set up a time for the First Round Judges visit.

Initial judging of this competition will occur during late January/early February when the First Round Judging panel visits with all entrants. This panel will ultimately select up to three finalists who go on to the next round of judging.

This First Round Judging visit will take up to three hours and will include a tour of key features. The judging will relate solely to the orchard or vegetable garden business.

The owner or owners of the business who carry the greatest responsibility i.e. Chair (or other elected representative), Supervisor and Manager are required to meet with the First Round Judges at the beginning of the visit. Professional advisors and the Manager if engaged may participate at owners' discretion.

It is important to allocate your time wisely and to demonstrate clearly to the judges how your business meets the criteria outlined below.

Following the judges visits with all entrants, you will be advised of the outcome of your judges visit.

Finalist Judging

If you are selected as a finalist:

The judging to select the winner from the finalists will take place in late March/early April.

Judging Day Process:

At 10am (or as agreed) on the day prior to the field day, the judges will meet with the owner or owners of the business who carry the greatest responsibility for the business, i.e. Chair and other members of the governance team.
The Advisor/Consultant or Manager may participate at owners' discretion.
This meeting will focus on governance, management and financial aspects and will include a property visit.
Please note that further information will be provided if you become a Finalist.

Public Field Day:

Each finalist is required to hold a field day where possible. Guidance and financial assistance is provided to finalists to assist in staging the field day.
Judges will be in attendance at the field day and the content and standard of presentation during the field day may be taken into consideration, however the field day is not part of the judging process, e.g., should the field day be unable to go ahead due to unforeseen circumstances, this will not impact the judging process.

Judging will be based on:

A. THE EFFICIENCY WITH WHICH THE PROPERTY IS RUN RELATIVE TO ITS POTENTIAL.

This will not be based solely on financial measures such as profit per hectare or return on business capital. These measures will be taken as a guide but consideration will also be given to other factors such as:

The physical resources available to the farmer (e.g. local climate, soil types, water, location etc).
Stage of development, financial structure.

B. FINANCIAL RESULTS WHERE:

Profit will be determined by the calculation of the operating profit per hectare, that is gross income less working expenses. Interest, development, capital expenditure, drawings, dividends, and taxation are not included in the calculation of operating profit.
Financial performance will be determined from annual financial statements for the three years ending at the balance date in 2028.

C. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE GROWERS GOVERNANCE PROCEDURES AND INITIATIVES, IN AREAS THAT INCLUDE:

The adoption of innovative systems and reinvestment in the business.
The pursuit of sustainable management strategies including the up-skilling of all personnel.
Keeping up to date with new growing methods and ways to monitor performance.
The level of recognition given to kaitiakitanga and ngā tikanga Māori in the operation of the enterprise.

Considerations

The organisers note that in recent times a number of new measures have been introduced to assess the performance of orchard and vegetable gardens and other businesses. These include:

Triple Bottom Line Reporting — which focuses a business on its economic value, added or lost, as well as environmental and social value. Entrants are encouraged to outline their efforts in these areas to the judges during their visits.
Cost of Production Analysis — calculating the cost of production per unit of output. This encourages the setting of goals for improved performance and allows comparisons to be made between different types of horticultural businesses.
Innovation — is the orchard or vegetable garden looking at innovative technology, processes, tools, practices or embracing new technologies that result in real improvements.

The judges will also look for best practice in relation to people management, including health and safety, and career development.

Criteria

In considering this the judges will utilise as a guideline the following weighting:

Criteria	%	Factors to be Taken into Account
Governance and Strategy	20%	Demonstrate how the governance structure provides strategic direction and articulates the vision and strategy of the business. Show how governance ensures effective oversight of management, and safeguards the organisation's long-term sustainability. This includes setting goals, monitoring performance, managing risks, ensuring legal and ethical compliance, and acting in the best interests of stakeholders. Provide clear articulation of the tangible returns and benefits of the strategy and business to shareholders. Show how tikanga Māori is applied to guide aspects of the strategy and values.
Social, Community, Ngā Tikanga Māori	20%	Describe how the business contributes to, and participates in, communities of interest for the organisation. This includes support for whānau, hapū, iwi, marae, and wider local community. Outline how kaitiakitanga and other te ao Māori values are applied across all criteria categories. Demonstrate the governance and management team's awareness of opportunities to connect with the wider industry to share knowledge, partner for impact, develop strategy, build networks and access financial or other tangible support. If there are cultural or historical sites of significance on the whenua, show how they are preserved.
Management and Performance
Financial Performance	20%	Show clear understanding of the organisation's financial performance, budgeting, variance reports and KPIs in place to monitor financial performance. Explain what non-financial benchmarks are used and why. Show consistency over the last 3–5 years in wealth creation for asset base growth, including leveraging the asset base for further capital investment. Show strong net profit per ha against comparable sector or crop benchmarks. Demonstrate that sustainable financial models are in place.
Commitment to Sustainability and the Environment	15%	Clearly show what environmental plan is in place, incorporating tikanga Māori concepts and indicators where appropriate, and the plan's relationship to other schemes such as NZ GAP EMS or similar. Describe what practices are in place either to restore or preserve te taiao. Outline any other contributions made by the business to the wider region to restore te taiao as part of kaitiakitanga. Demonstrate that best practices meet or exceed those for comparable horticultural properties in the same sector, and give examples and show active measurement. Demonstrate commitment to relevant industry Codes of Practice, including active care for soil, water, atmosphere, responsible agrichemical use, reduction of GHGs and care for the health and wellbeing of people and te taiao. Demonstrate the organisation's commitment to and leadership of relevant sector best practice, e.g. apple futures, kiwigreen or equivalent, waste elimination.
Market Focus	10%	Demonstrate that the produce grown meets or exceeds market specifications and customer expectations (e.g. 70% of produce is TAG 1), document success and quality rates from harvest. Outline the growing systems and product standards and processes that are in place to support achievement of these standards. Provide evidence of product traceability processes. Show that consumer demands are monitored and understood, and that the produce grown delivers to these standards.
Human Resource and Health and Safety	10%	Provide evidence that people and employment policies and practices support employees and the community. Outline what contributions and additional benefits are given back to employees. Outline conditions in employment contracts and provide evidence of regular reviews and performance feedback, training pathways and manaakitanga. Provide evidence of active and positive health, safety and wellbeing culture that builds staff engagement and continuous improvement. Demonstrate 'Employer of Choice' approaches going above and beyond other employers to attract and retain staff. If relevant, demonstrate how the organisation goes above and beyond to support RSE staff and integrate them into the organisation.
Innovation	5%	Show what innovation approaches are in place for the organisation. Describe how mātauranga Māori is being applied to create innovations in the business alongside other knowledge systems where relevant. Describe how important innovation is to strategy and the current and future success of the business. Outline what collaborative partnerships are being developed for innovation.
Total	100%

Judging Discretion

Judges will make their decisions based on a number of factors including the points allocated in the judging criteria set out above.

Accordingly, entrants need to demonstrate — both in written material supplied and in their presentation on the judging day — that they are performing in relation to the criteria set out in the table above.

Feedback will be given by judges to entrants on the strengths and recommendations for the horticultural business based on the information provided and their assessments on the judging day.

Independence of Judges

Before the judges are appointed, they are required to declare any potential conflict of interest. Where possible the judging panel will be made up of persons who are not participating in the competition but, where this is not feasible, a judge shall not participate in judging of a property where they have interests associated with an entry. Likewise judges shall not participate in the judging of the winner if they have an interest in one of the finalists.

The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.