Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board’s dairy farm in the Eastern Bay of Plenty hosted a field day this week as the Ahuwhenua Trophy judges visited the second of the two finalists in the competition to decide the top Māori dairy farm in Aotearoa.
Last week, the judges were at Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation’s dairy farm near Mangakino in the Waikato.
Around 250 people attended Thursday’s field day near Ōpōtiki, which began with a welcome at Terere Marae, including Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka who said it was a day to celebrate Māori farming and Māori business.
“This is something that Māori are massive contributors to and will continue to be in a growing and expanding form over time.”
Whakatōhea’s farm, Te Riu o Kānapanapa, is a collective of five dairy farms covering 218ha, about 4km south of Ōpōtiki. The farm winters 748 cows and milks 690 to peak with a production target of 300,000 kg/MS.
Whakatōhea CEO Dickie Farrar said the field day was ‘fantastic’ with people coming from afar to learn about the farm and the iwi’s history, the Ahuwhenua Trophy organisers said Saturday in a release.
Farrar said she found it inspirational to see all the hard work of her staff come together.
Nukuhia Hadfield, the chair of the Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee, said Whakatōhea, like many farms in the region, had a difficult year with adverse weather conditions.
“But it was great to see just how proud Whakatōhea are of their dairy farming operation and what they have been able to achieve.”
They have an “impressive vision”, she said.
“Whakatōhea have a proud history and an impressive vision which is strongly entrepreneurial, weaving together six strategic pou: cultural identity, language and heritage, being well educated, healthy, socially connected, economically and commercially savvy.”
The two finalists in the competition, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board and Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani Incorporation, would “both be worthy winners,” Hadfield said.
The winner will be announced at an awards dinner in Hamilton on May 17.