Since 2006, AUSVEG has recognised fresh produce growers and future leaders in horticulture with the Young Grower of the Year award.

Winners of this award have championed the success of the industry and continue to show a commitment to innovation to help inspire the next generation of growers.

2017 Young Grower of the Year award recipient Daniel Adams shares what has changed since he received his award, what he is doing today, and his plans for the future.

Adams Farms is a family business that has been growing vegetables in Victoria’s Yarra Valley for 60 years. During the 1970s, the operation became focused on Brussels sprouts production and today, grows around approximately 1,200 tonnes of sprouts per year.

Firmly entrenched on the farm is Daniel Adams, who received the Young Grower of the Year award in 2017. A third-generation grower, Daniel is Adams Farms Assistant General Manager and works alongside his father, Bruce, and brother Jeremy.

Daniel says winning the young grower accolade was unexpected, but certainly an honour. Attending Hort Connections also proved fruitful.

“Being part of the whole process – getting involved with AUSVEG and Hort Connections – provides great opportunities to network and meet people who may help at some point along the way,” he says.

Since 2017, Daniel’s responsibilities in the family business have increased as he has continued to build on his knowledge and experience as a vegetable grower.

“One thing I am learning in this industry is you need to be flexible. You need to have good plans, but you have to be prepared to change and compromise a fair bit along the way as different challenges present themselves,” he says.

Daniel enjoys where he lives, along with the lifestyle and the challenges it produces.

“One reason my Grandpa started growing Brussels sprouts was because of the challenges; it is always satisfying to put in the work and see the results. There are also a lot of great people you get to meet through various means,” Daniel says.

At the time of writing, demand for Brussels sprouts was strong. Daniel, Bruce and Jeremy had recently broken a personal record for units packed in a week – two weeks in a row.

“We are pretty happy with how things operate. The potential to expand is there, but at the moment we have quite a good lifestyle balance, so we’ll keep plodding along and doing what we do,” Daniel says.

Click on each name to read the stories of five other previous Young Grower of the Year award winners: Andrew Bulmer, Danny Trandos, Erika Watson, Chris McLoghlin, and Daniel Hoffmann.

This article features in the spring 2020 edition of Vegetables Australia. Click here to read the full publication. 

Find out more

Hort Connections 2021 will be held from 7-9 June 2021 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

More details around next year’s Hort Connections will be released in the coming months, with registrations due to open in early 2021. For more information, please visit the Hort Connections website.