Award acknowledges the more than 35 years Davis has played a pivotal leadership role in the advancement of New Zealand’s vegetable sector
Stuart Davis, Leaderbrand’s sustainability manager, has been awarded with a Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) Life Member award, recognising his service and leadership within the country’s horticulture sector.
The prestigious accolade was awarded in a special presentation held late last week attended by HortNZ chair Bernadine Guilleux and Mike Arnold general manager of Leaderbrand South Island. While this award is typically presented at the annual industry event in August, it was bestowed early this year to acknowledge Davis’s health and ensure his exceptional contributions are publicly celebrated.
The HortNZ Life Member award is reserved for individuals who have demonstrated long-standing and dedicated service as office holders within HortNZ and affiliated grower groups.
With a career spanning more than 35 years, Davis has played a pivotal leadership role in the advancement of New Zealand’s vegetable sector.
As sustainability manager at Leaderbrand, he has championed the integration of science and innovation into practical vegetable production systems. Beginning in the 1980s, Davis pioneered the commercial use of mathematical crop prediction models for sweetcorn and other crops, collaborating with Crop & Food Research and NIWA. This groundbreaking work helped establish the close partnership between science and the vegetable industry that exists today.
Davis’s commitment to the industry is further reflected in his service as a director of vegetables NZ for over a decade and his role as chair of the Vegetable Research & Innovation Board, where he helped coordinate research investment across a range of product groups.
His dedication to understanding and advancing the relationship between horticulture and the environment was instrumental in the development of A Lighter Touch, a NZ$27mn, seven-year programme jointly funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries and industry partners, designed to guide pest management toward more sustainable practices.
Leaderbrand’s CEO Richard McPhail said Davis had dedicated many hours to the cause and worked tirelessly in all his roles.
“Everyone at LeaderBrand is delighted to see Stuart receive this recognition for his immense contributions to horticulture and, above all, for his unwavering dedication to environmental stewardship,” McPhail said. “Truly, there could be no more worthy recipient of this award.”
In addition to this latest recognition, Davis was named the recipient of the prestigious Bledisloe Cup in 2024 by HortNZ, awarded for an outstanding contribution to the horticulture industry.
