increase font size
Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy (left) with Moyra Bramley, chairwoman of the Onuku Māori Lands Trust.
Rotorua-based Onuku Māori Lands Trust scooped the 2018 Ahuwhenua Trophy BNZ Māori Excellence in Farming Award for dairy.
Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy, announced the winner at a special awards function in Christchurch last Friday. The function was attended by more 650 people including the Minister for Māori Development, Nanaia Mahuta, the Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor and other dignitaries representing te ao Māori, central and local government and agribusiness.
The Ahuwhenua Trophy was inaugurated 85 years ago by Māori Leader, Sir Apirana Ngata and the Governor General at the time, Lord Bledisloe with the objective of encouraging Māori farmers to improve their land and their overall farming position with an emphasis on sustainability.
The winning farm is their Boundary Road property, one of a number of farms owned and operated by the Trust. Boundary Road consists of a 72ha block near Lake Rotomahana, about 30km south of Rotorua. The Trust milks 220 cows which produce about 90,000 kgMS on farm.
The other finalist in the 2018 competition was the Proprioters of Mawhera Incorporation whose dairy farm is near Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island.
Kingi Smiler, the chairman of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee says both finalists set very high standards in terms of their farming and the governance of their operations. But he says there has to be a winner and the judges believed that on this occasion Onuku were the top performer.
“I congratulate Onuku and commend them for their great farming operation and their commitment to the values of Sir Apirana Ngata and Lord Bledisloe. Every year we attract an amazing cohort of farmers which showcase the success of Māori achievement in the agri business sector – long may this continue,” he says.
Smiler says it is great to showcase Māori excellence before such a large and influential audience at the awards function.
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.
Entries to select the top Māori dairy farm for the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy competition are being invited from all Māori dairy farmers, trusts and other entities around the country.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
