Te Puke man Joel Wanhill has won the 2012 Young Grower of the Year Bay of Plenty Competition.
Mr Wanhill works as a general orchard worker for the Edkins Family Orchards in Te Puke.
He won a $1500 cash prize and will go on to compete for the national title at the Young Grower of the year competition being held at the Horticulture New Zealand Conference in Auckland in July.
Mr Wanhill said the competition was challenging but very rewarding.
"This was a real mental and physical challenge for me but I'm thrilled to have taken the title and it feels really rewarding to be able to represent the Bay of Plenty at the final next month.