Horticulture New Zealand hosts its 2026 New Zealand Horticulture Conference on 28-29 July at Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, expecting more than 900 delegates and, for the first time, merging the Horticulture and RSE conferences into one two-day event.
The 2026 New Zealand Horticulture Conference brings the country's horticulture sector to Wellington on 28-29 July 2026, staged at the Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre. Horticulture New Zealand expects more than 900 growers, employers, service providers and industry stakeholders across the two days, making it one of the primary industry's major annual gatherings.
A distinguishing feature of the 2026 edition is structural: the Horticulture Conference and the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Conference are being combined into a single integrated two-day programme, billed by the organiser as "one event, two days, one strong industry voice."
The conference is organised by Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) on behalf of the more than 4,300 growers it represents. HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott is the named spokesperson, describing the programme as delivering "high-quality content with strong commercial relevance for growers and the wider horticulture sector" and pointing to Tākina as "a fantastic venue for bringing the sector together." The event's platinum sponsor is Woolworths, with a broad supporting roster including Horticentre Charitable Trust, T&G, Farmlands, FMG and Aon.
The conference is aimed at growers, seasonal employers, service providers and sector stakeholders. The programme is organised across three dedicated streams - strategic, RSE and technical - designed to let delegates build their own agenda and appeal to a wide range of attendees.
Surrounding events extend the week. A pre-conference RSE Employer forum for employers and participating countries in the scheme is held on 27 July, the day before the main conference. The Horticulture Industry Awards and Gala Dinner take place on 29 July, and the Horticulture New Zealand and Vegetables NZ Annual General Meetings are also held during the conference.
Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre sits on the city's waterfront alongside Te Papa, placing the conference within Wellington's central entertainment and hospitality precinct. As reported on the organiser's own accommodation page, a cluster of hotels sits within easy reach of the venue for delegates: QT Wellington is around 170m away, and other central properties including Rydges Wellington, West Plaza and the InterContinental are listed within walking distance, with several Oriental Bay properties a short drive from Tākina. The central-city location means most delegate movement between accommodation and sessions is on foot along the waterfront.
As the flagship annual conference of the national industry body for a sector representing more than 4,300 growers, the New Zealand Horticulture Conference is a significant fixture on the country's business-events calendar. Its 2026 scale - 900-plus delegates, an integrated RSE stream, an awards gala and two national AGMs - anchors it as a genuine multi-day sector congress, and its choice of Tākina reinforces Wellington's positioning as a host city for large primary-industry gatherings.
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