2016 Ahuwhenua Trophy Launched

MEDIA RELEASE - 11 October 2015

Entries for the 2016 Ahuwhenua Trophy BNZ Māori Excellence in Farming Award for dairy are now open and the competition was officially launched by the Minister for Māori Development, Hon Te Ururoa Flavell at the annual Federation of Māori Authorities conference in Wellington this weekend.

The Ahuwhenua Trophy is the longest running primary sector competition in New Zealand and was inaugurated in 1932 by the great Māori leader Sir Apirana Ngata and the Governor General at the time Lord Bledisloe.

It’s purpose is to showcase  achievement in the Māori farming sector to all New Zealanders, in particular successful approaches to governance, financing, management, environmental sustainability and the incorporation of tikanga Māori in their business activities. Another key objective is to acknowledge the significant contribution that Māori make to the overall New Zealand economy.

The Chairman of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee, Kingi Smiler says entering the competition offers a unique opportunity for individual Māori farmers, trusts and incorporations to get valuable professional feedback on their farming operations.
“The judges of the competition are highly skilled professionals in the agribusiness sector and they have access to data which can benchmark individual operations. All previous participants in the competition have said it was an invaluable exercise and they gained feedback that they otherwise wouldn’t have got. The modest cost of entering the Ahuwhenua Trophy is more than made up for by the benefits that can accrue – including becoming a finalist and winning the award,” he says.

Kingi Smiler has also appealed to farm consultants who work for Māori farmers to encourage their clients to enter the competition. He says these people do hold some influence over many Māori farming operations and he says he’s sure they will see the benefits of their farms entering Ahuwhenua.  

“For too long Māori have failed to tell their own people and all New Zealanders their success stories. Māori farming is one of these and throughout the country there are some great things being done on land owned by Māori. The rise and rise of Māori dairy farming should be showcased and celebrated. I just wonder how many people realise that Māori farmers produce ten percent of the milk in NZ, or the scale and sophistication of some of our farming operations. The Ahuwhenua Trophy competition is a brilliant way of showing this,” he says.

Entries for the competition are now open and details are available here.

For further information contact Peter Burke 021 2242184.

Our thanks to our valued sponsors: BNZ, DairyNZ, Fonterra, Ministry for Primary Industries, Te Puni Kōkiri,  Te Tumu Paeroa,  Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Primary ITO, AgResearch, PGG Wrightson, AFFCO, BDO, Allflex, Polaris, LIC, Ecolab, Federation of Māori Authorities, Landcorp, Worksafe and Tohu Wines.