Tewi Trust

2016 Dairy Finalists

Tewi Trust

Tewi Trust is situated near the small South Waikato settlement of Okoroire near Tirau. The area is famous for its hot springs and its beautiful hotel.

Tewi Trust has 53 shareholders and is named after one of the original owners Tewi Hoera who passed the land on to his daughters and was leased out by them to a local farmer. When the lease came up for renewal during the second World War, the land was leased out again for 30 years. But when this expired the Trust took back one parcel of land and a year later a second parcel to form the farm but these were separated by a privately owned farm. There are two waahi tapu sites on the property.

During early 1970’s the cow shed was upgraded and general improvements made to the farm. But the Trust faced further challenges and it was decided to employ a 50/50 sharemilker. In 1991 a small parcel of land was exchanged to physically connect the run-off to the main farm. In 2000 the Trust bought the land that the two blocks completely surrounded.

Today the farm is still run by a 50/50 sharemilker and consists of a 138ha effective milking platform on which is a 430 cow Friesian cross herd which produces 174,405 kgs/MS. The cows are milked in a 40 aside herringbone shed. The farm leases 13 eff ha of support land which it uses to grow maize and to provide some winter grazing.

The land is flat to rolling with some steeper slopes. The soil is Tirau Sandy Loam and is very good dairy land. The farm runs as a system two which means the cows are fed mainly grass and receive supplements such as PKE on the shoulders of the season and to cover unforeseen adverse events.

Up to six hectares of turnips and four hectares of chicory are grown to protect against the summer dry. Each year about ninety tonnes of grass silage is produced – about half of this is on the main farm and the other half from the leased block. About two thirds of the maize used on the farm is grown on the lease block and the rest on farm.

Tewi Trust is a great example of how a small and determined group of whānau have, over many years of adversity and challenges achieved their dream of farming their own land successfully and profitably and have kept a strong focus on Māori values.