Jamie Wells has been working in horticulture since graduating Pukekohe high school in 2012, where he had the opportunity to work and study by correspondence with Balle Bros. He was able to complete his bachelor of Agri-science major in horticulture in 2021 as well as Intermediate and Advanced Sustainable Nutrient Management courses.
His role within Balle Bros is an Agronomist, reviewing potatoes, carrots, onions, brassica, spring onion and cereal crops within the franklin region. Jamie also contributes towards procurement of materials (seed, fertilisers, agrichemicals), trial material on site, as well as auditing material for Global/NZ Gap and Leaf benchmarks.
Jamie is passionate about new technology, research and innovation that simplify or enhance growing capacities. He says being able to view new methods or materials to control on the ground problems growers face is rewarding. Seeing material on the ALT/VICE farm in Pukekohe is a good litmus test to see what is practical in a commercial sense. Also seeing young people enter the industry is also rewarding.
Since competing in the Young Growers event in 2024, Jamie would like to see more young growers take up the opportunity to expand their growing network. He recommends it as a good way to make connections within the industry.
Jamie regularly partakes in sport football, hockey during winter months and in his spare time he also enjoys catching up on a few music gigs or attending Chiefs/AFC/Warrior’s games.