Early field day success

More than 150 people turned out for the first field day of the three finalists for the 2014 Ahuwhenua Trophy BNZ Māori Excellence in Farming Award for Dairy. The field day was held at Putauaki Trust, Himiona Farm near Te Teko in the Bay of Plenty.

Those attending the event which began with a formal pōwhiri or welcome at the historic Kokohinau marae were given a series of presentations about the farm and also taken on a tour by bus to see some key parts of the property.

The farm is particularly unusual in that the Putauaki Trust owns only 57 ha of the 177 ha effective milking platform – the rest is owned by 12 small whānau trusts who have leased the land to Putauaki. The land is not contiguous meaning that Himiona Farm relies on other landowners to allow it access to some of its paddocks. Some of these are three and a half kilometers from the dairy shed.

Currently the farm is running 570 cows and is on target to produce 225,000 kgMS this season. The farm has strong environmental practices and is also working hard to improve the quality of its pasture. As well it has a strategic plan, which will see it increase production on Himiona Farm and then develop a new dairy farm near Kawerau.

There was also a good turnout to Te Rua o Te Moko Ltd field day near Hawera later in the week. A crowd of more than 100 people heard presentation about the history and success of the farm and were then taken on a brief tour to see the property. The farm is just outside the township of Normanby near Hawera and is adjacent to farms of another major Maori dairy farming enterprise and previous winner of the Ahuwhenua Trophy, Pariinihi ki Waitotara (PKW) . In fact many of the people in TROTM have links to PKW.

The 189 (170 effective) farm is made up of three whanau trusts, a private trust and a block which is banked with the Office of Treaty Settlements. This block is subject to a negotiation with Nga Ruahine which already owns one of the Te Rua o Te Moko blocks.

The farm is currently managed by a 50/50 share milking arrangement, but this is due to expire at the end of the 2014/15 season at which time TROTM will take over the running of the property.

The Chairman of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee Kingi Smiler says the field day was a great success and sets the stage for the other two field days, which will be held over the next week.

He says Himiona Farm, like the other two finalists, Te Rua o Te Moko Ltd in Taranaki and Ngāti Awa Farms Ltd, Ngakauroa Farm consist of a number of smaller whānau trusts which have collaborated together to form a larger Trust and thus form a viable and economic farming unit.

“This model is the way for the future and I am sure that other Trusts will look at the example of these three finalists and say ‘we can do it too’. It’s not just a model that will be confined to the dairy industry – it’s one that can apply equally to the sheep and beef sectors. These three finalists have shown what can be done and I am sure others will follow in their footsteps,” he says.

The final field day will be at Ngāti Awa Farms Ltd, Ngakauroa Farm next Wednesday March 19.

The winner of the 2014 Ahuwhenua Trophy will be announced on June 13 in Tauranga.