Growing the Future: A Q&A with Horizon Scholar Chris Partridge

The Horizon Scholarship program is a cornerstone of Hort Innovation’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of horticulture leaders. It connects university students with mentors, networks, and industry experiences that help shape their careers and the future of Australian horticulture. 

One of our 2025 Horizon Scholars is Chris Partridge, an aspiring agronomist and researcher focused on improving farm productivity and sustainability. We caught up with Chris to learn more about his journey, his vision for the industry, and what excites him most about being part of the Horizon community. 

Thanks for joining us, Chris. Let’s start with the basics, can you tell me a bit about yourself and what sparked your interest in horticulture?   

I'm in my second year at the University of Adelaide, studying a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences. I grew up in southwest WA, where my parents have been involved in horticulture their whole careers as researchers, focusing on primary production in avocados and now in the grapevine nursery industry. 

I witnessed their careers during my upbringing, and this led to me deciding to study agriculture. But before that, I had a gap year after finishing year 12 and I moved to northwest NSW, where I lived and worked on a cotton farm for six months. Then I went home for four months to help the family business in the grapevine nursery and do some harvesting. After that, I was off to DBH for grain receival for two months, and then I went to uni.  

If you had to describe your horticulture journey in a few words, what would they be? 

Unique and far-reaching. 

What are you most excited about as part of your Horizon Scholarship? 

It's definitely the opportunities, such as going to Canberra Park this year for the Stakeholder Summit. It's not just about networking opportunities but also seeing different and new things that I haven't seen before.  

What’s one innovation or trend in horticulture that really excites you right now? 

Robotics and the more advanced mechanisation of tasks are fascinating, especially in horticulture where labour is the biggest cost. Anything that reduces labour costs is amazing. This year, at the nursery at home, we bought a new processing line from Germany, which increased our processing rate from about 8,000 plants a day to 20,000. We're still using the same amount of staff, but the time we need them for is a lot less, so our labour costs are much better. I’m excited to see how this evolves further with more technology. 

What role do you think emerging leaders, like yourself, will play in shaping the future of horticulture in Australia? 

I think we'll definitely play a much more public role. We may have scientific jobs or be out in the field, but we'll have a significant public relations role with the general public. As the world becomes more digitised and information spreads quickly, we need to stay on top of public relations for horticulture, maintaining good relations and a positive social licence with the general public. 

Imagine it’s 2035, what does the Australian horticulture industry look like, in your ideal world? 

Ideally, we would have seen that next big jump in robotics, mechanisation, and especially genetics. It's coming, but the pipeline is slow. I'm quite confident that we'll see Australian horticulture move to the next production level. Right now, we produce an incredible amount of produce, but we struggle with consistency. As climate change worsens, we'll have to work harder to maintain that consistency, so in ten years, I hope to see far greater consistency in the output of produce. 

Finally, what’s your go-to snack or meal made from fresh Aussie produce? 

Apple sauce snack packs, and the peach and juice tubs, like the SPC ones, are some favourites as they are great for farm work because you can just throw them in your lunch box.