Final Ahuwhenua Trophy field day success
Another great crowd came along for the field day at Tunapahore B2A Incorporation located at Hawai on the East Coast of the North Island, close to the township of Opotiki. This was last of the field days held by the finalists in the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy for Dairy.
The property consists of 400.83ha of land but the actual milking platform is 132ha on which is run 385 cows that produce 125,940 kgMS.
A special feature of the farm is that it is right on the coast and the picturesque setting drew a positive reaction from the farmers, rural professionals, agribusiness leaders and government officials who attended the day. The guests were welcomed onto the Torere Marae and later listened to presentations by the Committee of Management, advisors and farm staff. Among the speakers was the Chair of the Incorporation, Jack Mihaere.
After the presentations, visitors were taken on a farm tour where they saw many of the developments which have taken place including improvements to the pasture and the environment. They also had a chance to look at the herd.
Tunapahore Chairman, Jack Mihaere, says he had a sleepless night preparing for the field day. But he was delighted with the large turn out and was not surprised at how many people came along from all over the region.
Jack says attending a field day last year at Matapihi for a finalist of the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for Horticulture, inspired Tunapahore to enter. He says they were thinking about entering the dairy competition, and when they saw what Ngai Tukairangi had done, they decided they would have a go. He says they only had four days to put in their entry and are very pleased they did.
The Chairman of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee, Kingi Smiler says the field day at Tunapahore B2A Incorporation was excellent and showed the tremendous effort the Incorporation has put into making a success of their land. He says the Committee of Management who run the operation are part of an Eastern Bay of Plenty Maori dairy cluster which is a DairyNZ/MPI initiative providing a learning network and access to resources and professional support.
Kingi says the diversification programme being undertaken by the Incorporation shows the vision and the business acumen of Tunapahore B2A Incorporation. Kingi says this and the field days at the other two finalist farms have done an excellent job in positively showcasing Māori agribusiness to both fellow Māori and the wider rural sector. He says Māori are often too modest about their achievements and he says its time they were outspoken about what they are doing and are planning to do. He says the agri sector in Aotearoa has much to learn from the Māori way and when they do embrace it, they will wonder why they never did it sooner.
Key Contact: Jack Mihaere, 027 413 7654, mizwacky@hotmail.com
Our thanks to our valued Ahuwhenua Trophy sponsors: Te Puni Kōkiri, Ministry for Primary Industries, BNZ, Te Tumu Paeroa, DairyNZ, Fonterra, Māori Tourism, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, PGG Wrightson, AgResearch, Allflex, BDO, AFFCO, Massey University, Ecolab, FMG, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment and Kono Wines.
A big thanks also to sponsors of the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award: Te Puni Kōkiri, Primary ITO, Te Tumu Paeroa DairyNZ, and Allflex.
Media can contact Peter Burke: 021 224 2183 / peterb@actrix.co.nz. Photographs are free for use in relation to the competition. Visit www.bit.ly/ahuwhenuatrophy or contact John Cowpland, Alphapix: 027 253 3464 / info@alphapix.co.nz.