Finalists from Whakatōhea Mãori Trust Board and Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation with Minister Tama Potaka, Minister Todd McClay, Ahuwhenua Trophy Chair, Nukuhia Hadfield and Pou Tikanga Trevor Moeke.
The finalists in this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy for the top Māori dairy farm were announced at a special function at Parliament today by the Minister for Māori Development, Hon Tama Potaka. The event was well attended with guests including politicians, agribusiness leaders, industry representatives, diplomats and the finalists themselves.
The finalists are:
- Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation – based in Mangakino; and
- Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board – based in Opotiki.
The Ahuwhenua Trophy is the most prestigious award for excellence in Māori farming and was inaugurated 91 years ago by the great Māori Leader, Sir Apirana Ngata and the Governor General at the time, Lord Bledisloe. The objective was and still is to encourage Māori farmers to improve their land and their overall farming performance with an emphasis on sustainability. On a three year rotational basis, the Trophy is competed for by Māori farmers and growers in the sheep and beef, horticulture and dairy sectors. This year the competition is for dairy.
Nukuhia Hadfield, Chair of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee, says once again the competition has attracted a high calibre of entrants from around the country. She says the dairy sector, like all primary sectors, faces huge challenges such as global financial disruption, war, rising costs and some major markets that are taking longer than expected to recover from the covid pandemic. Our dairy farmers are not immune from these challenges, but this has not deterred them from entering this year’s competition.
“This year’s finalists, along with the other entrants in this competition, show the strength and determination of Māori dairy farmers to successfully overcome adversity and get on with the daily task of producing their products in a truly sustainable way. Aotearoa should be proud of what they do and the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition ensures that their efforts are recognised and celebrated,” she says.
Nukuhia Hadfield says an issue Māori farmers face is that their contribution to the Aotearoa economy, goes largely unrecognised, and one of the goals on the Ahuwhenua Trophy is to build awareness of this important contribution within te ao Māori, as well as with the wider public and throughout government and industry circles.
The finalists will each hold a public field day at their respective properties. Each day runs from 9.30am – 2.00pm and all are welcome. Further details, including start point addresses, will be posted on the Ahuwhenua Trophy website and Facebook page.
Field day dates
- Thursday 28 March 2024 – Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation
- Thursday 4 April 2024 – Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board
The winner will be announced at the awards dinner held on Friday 17 May 2024 at the Globox Arena, Claudelands Event Centre, in Hamilton.
Media please note:
For further information please contact Peter Burke, 021 2242184 - peterj@true-to-ireland.com.
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
Our thanks to our valued Ahuwhenua Trophy sponsors:
Platinum: Te Puni Kōkiri and Ministry for Primary Industries
Gold: Te Tumu Paeroa, BNZ, Dairy NZ and NZ Mãori Tourism
Silver: Ballance Agri-Nutrients, PGG Wrightson, AgResearch, Fonterra and LIC
Bronze: BDO, Affco, Massey University, Ecolab, FMG, Ministry of Business and Innovation and Employment
Other: FarmIQ Systems and Kono Beverages.
A big thanks also to sponsors of the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award: Te Tumu Paeroa, Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Pūkenga | Primary ITO, Dairy NZ, and MSD Animal Health.
Finalist Summaries
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation
Field day: Thursday 28 March 2024
Photo L-R: Te Horipo Karaitiana – Deputy Chairman, Gavin Sheath – Advisor, Brett Bennet – General Manager of Finance, Mereana Aranga – Finance Assistant & Events Relations Manager, Kingi Smiler –Chairman, Haley Webber – Farm 4 2IC, Gareth Hughes – General Manager of Farms, Anaru Smiler –Group General Manager, Kim Turner –Farm 4 Manager. Corpow Potter –Farm 4 Farm Assistant, Karol Good –Property Manager, Brooklyn Webber –Farm 4 Farm Assistant, Diego Gomez –Operations Manager, Chersonia Stowers –Farm 4 Herd Manager.
The story of the formation of Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation (WMI) and the ownership of some 30,486 acres of the Pouakani 2 Block in Mangakino, South Waikato has its origins in the colonisation of the Wairarapa after 1840. Wairarapa Moana hapū had valuable landholdings and customary fishing rights for tuna in and around Lake Wairarapa, however by the late 1800s continual pressure from farmer settlers and Crown coercion ultimately led to the hapū gifting the lake to the Crown in 1896 in exchange for other lands in the Wairarapa.
The Crown did not honour the original agreement and were not prepared to source lands locally in Wairarapa, so in 1915 with great reluctance the hapū leaders at that time accepted the land known as the Pouakani 2 Block in Mangakino.
Access to the land was only made available in 1946 as a result of the building of the Maraetai dam by the Ministry of Works, who had commenced major works without seeking the consent of the WMI landowners. The crown also acquired 2,000 acres of the Pouakani 2 Block under the Public Works Act for the dam infrastructure.
For the period from 1947 to 1983 the Pouakani lands were developed by Māori Affairs Department under the Māori Land Development Scheme first set up by Ta Apirana Ngata in 1929. The first whānau from the Wairarapa moved to Mangakino in 1948 to begin farming. The block was initially developed into twenty 100 acre dairy units and two large sheep and beef units with the remaining lands planted in radiata pine.
So, it took some 87 years since the gifting of the Lake to the Crown, before the owners finally had control of their own whenua.
WMI currently consists of 12 dairy units across 4,300ha, three dairy support units comprising 1,900 ha and two forestry blocks totalling 6,100ha. It aims to produce five million milksolids from its 12,000 cow herd and is the largest supplier to milk processor Miraka Ltd, of which WMI is a cornerstone shareholder.
Today 128 years later WMI continues under the stewardship of the mokopuna of the original 230 owners, Kingi Smiler (Chair), Te Horipo Karaitiana (Deputy Chair), Anne Carter, Sonya Rimene and Brad Tatere. The Committee’s aspiration is to continue to nurture their taonga for future generations guided by the overarching philosophy of kaitiakitanga.
WMI has entered one of its dairy units into the Ahuwhenua Trophy Competition, which has a milking platform of 300 hectares, milking 980 cows and producing 416,000 kg/MS. This is managed by Kim Turner and her 2IC, Haley Webber.
With a strong focus on optimising both economic and environmental performance, WMI has comprehensive business and environmental plans, aimed at building a sustainable and resilient business. WMI also provides cultural and social investment to support the well-being of our tipuna marae, our owners and wider whānau, as well as the local community in Mangakino and Wairarapa.
Media contact: Charmaine Kawana, 06 370 2608, Charmaine@wairarapamoana.org.nz
Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board
Field day: Thursday 4 April 2024
L-R: Josh Collier (Farm Manager). Robert Edwards (Iwi Chair), Dickie Farrar (CEO), Graeme Riesterer (Farm Committee Chair) Tahu Taia (Trustee).
Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board derives mana motuhake from Ranginui and Papatūānuku and the eight generations of whakapapa to Irakewa and Wekanui, the parents of our ancestress, Muriwai of the Mataatua waka. The union of Muriwai’s daughter, Hine-i-kauia to the warlord Tūtāmure of the Nukutere waka laid the foundation for the Whakatōhea iwi to reside within their boundaries from Ohiwa harbour to the west, Opape in the east and the Motu in the south.
In 1866 Whakatōhea lived along the rich alluvial shores of the Eastern Bay of Plenty, known as te rohe o Whakatōhea, later known as Ōpōtiki. It was during this time 144,000 acres of Whakatōhea land was confiscated, and Whakatōhea people were left to perish on the Opape Native Reserve. The remaining 491,000 acres was uninhabitable mountainous hinterland.
In 1914, a petition to Parliament enabled compensation of £20,000 to be paid to Whakatōhea to purchase J.G Murray dairy farm on 1 October 1952. Three years later, the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board was formed under the Māori Trust Board Act 1955.
The Trust Board is governed by twelve members, nominated and elected by the hapū they represent: Ngai Tamahaua, Ngāti Ruatakenga, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira and Te Upokorehe. Two members are required to represent each of the six hapū in a three year cycle. The Governance Board has a broad range of skills, ranging from two dairy farmers with a combined experience of 115 years, an associate professor of research, a doctor of education, legal expertise in HR, policy, health, and environment, and business expertise, with one trustee having a masters in technological futures.
Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board’s vision is for it to be the food bowl that feeds the world – “Ko Te Kai Hoki i Waiaua.” This is not just about food. The vision confirms our entrepreneurial spirit, weaving together our six strategic pou: cultural identity, language and heritage, being well educated, healthy, socially connected, economically and commercially savy. A key priority are our regenerative strategies which have strengthened our responsibilities as kaitiaki of the environment we exist in. These pou have been the catalyst for Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board’s 50 year strategy.
The Farm Committee is made up of three trustees, the Chief Executive, the farm consultant, farm manager and support block manager, the finance manager and an administrator. There are four permanent staff on-farm and one casual, along with two calf rearers when required. Our farm strategies have been developed from the team on the ground, inclusive of senior leadership, farm committee and governance members. We fully support staff training, and external visits to other farms, and field days for the committee and farm team.
Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board’s dairy farm named Te Riu o Kānapanapa is a collective of five dairy farms and is located 4km south of Ōpōtiki along the Waioweka straight. The dairy platform is 218ha effective made up of 175.7 ha of corpus whenua, 29ha addition to the block and 13.3ha leased. The 3-4 farming system has helped balance on farm feed and external sourcing.
The land is flat and is made up of alluvial soil, with loam, sand, stones and acidic clay on some parts of the blocks. The Waioweka river runs the length of the dairy farm and has a stopbank in place to protect the land.
The farm winters 748 cows and milks 690 to peak. We rear stock at Whakapaupākihi, a 346ha support block at the Motu, 10km north of Matawai in the Gisborne catchment. This financial year we raised 190 R1 heifers, 190 dairy heifer calves and 350 beef calves.
Our approach has been to work in an integrated way across our organisations six pou to achieve a balance of social, cultural, environmental and financial return on investment.
Media contact: Dickie Farrar, CEO, 07 315 6150, Dickie.Farrar@whakatohea.co.nz
