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Nukuhia Hadfield (left) and Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri picture with the three trophies at Fieldays.
A highlight of the launch of the Ruataki mo te Taurikura, Embracing Change for Prosperity strategy was seeing all three Ahuwhenua trophies on display.
It’s the first time all three have been displayed at once since the horticulture trophy was contested for the first time in 2020. The Ahuwhenua trophy competition is designed to recognise the top Māori farms in dairy, sheep and beef and horticulture and is rotated around these on a three year cycle.
About 70 people, including the Minister of Agriculture, the head of MPI, Māori and pakeha agribusiness leaders, past winners of the Ahuwhenua trophy and the Young Māori Farmer, attended the launch.
Past winner of the sheep and beef trophy in 2015 and Chair of the Ahuwhenua Trust Management Committee, which runs the competition, Nukuhia Hadfield, spoke about the significance of having all the trophies together for the first time.
She told the gathering that the Ahuwhenua competition gives Māori farmers a great platform to put themselves forward and to share their experiences. She says simply by entering the competition they get the benefit of benchmarking and feedback from a very experienced judging panel. Hadfield says such advice is invaluable in helping them set their future strategic direction.
She says becoming a finalists and winner allowed she and her husband Bart to grow professionally and validated a lot of what they were doing.
“It gave us confidences to grow and expand our business and at times took us out of our comfort zone but in the end we are all the more resilient for it,” she says.
This year’s Fieldays will feature a Rural Advocacy Hub - bringing together various rural organisations who are advocating for farmers and championing their interests as one team, under one roof, for the first time.
In a few weeks the winner of the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy for the top Māori dairy farm will be revealed at a gala dinner in Hamilton. In the past couple of weeks, the two finalists in this year’s competition have been holding on-farm field days to showcase why they are finalists. Peter Burke has attended both field days.
Competitors from Oamaru, Ashburton and Tirau are all vying for this year’s prestigious Young Māori dairy farmer of the year title.
The finalists in this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy competition to select the top Māori dairy farm in the country are now busy planning and organising field days at their respective properties.
Two dairy farms – one at Mangakino in the central North Island and one at Opotiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty are the finalists in this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy.
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