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Kingi Smiler, chairman of the Ahuwhenua management committee.
The field day at Rakaia was another great event, says Kingi Smiler, chairman of the Ahuwhenua management committee which runs the trophy competition.
About 200 people attended the day.
Smiler says Rakaia Incorporation has huge local support and a wonderful story to tell about the history of the farm – one it tells beautifully. The story tells how they took back control of their lands after suffering during the colonisation process.
The decision to convert the land to dairying was a brave one at the time and the whanau has a great sense of pride about its achievements.
"Tahu a Tao is like many Maori farms which are managing the volatility in the dairy industry and still making a profit while most other dairy farms will be making losses this season.
"There are a couple of key reasons for that. Maori farming is focused on intergenerational outcomes so they are not farming for capital gains and are not looking at the property market. Instead they are working and sustaining the land and deriving a yield so that they can support each generation of shareholders so that all get some benefit from the property.
"It's a completely differently philosophy and therefore their onfarm focus on performance is there every year, not just when prices pick up."
Smiler says Rakaia Incorporation has been tight on farm working expenses and has done a wonderful job getting high productivity at low cost – superior to most farms in this region and nationwide. Low debt enables them to manage well.
Maori farms generally have good sustainable farming systems which clearly work, and in these tough times Smiler expects other farmers to start adopting some of these practices.
At least 800 people have recently attended the field days of the three Ahuwhenua Trophy finalists, an excellent turnout, Smiler says. The competition instills pride and mana in whanau directly involved and in Maori generally. He hopes this will help motivate them to pass this on to successive generations.
An awards dinner and ceremony will be held on Friday May 20 in Hamilton. About 800 people are expected to attend.
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.
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.
The finalists for the 2024 Ahuwhenua Trophy for the top Māori dairy farm were announced at a special function in Parliament earlier this week.
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