A farm open day will be followed by a social hour, dinner and live entertainment for invited industry leaders and people with present or past close, active links with the farm and its activities, says secretary Tracy Kivell.
Top billing will be a comedy, Jersey Girls -- Farmed and Dangerous, written by Lynelle Kuriger, produced by Tracy Blake and performed by Stratford on Stage. It follows the year-long tribulations and schemes of a herd of talking dairy cows, as seen and expressed by them.
Records show that on June 19, 1917 the Stratford Model Dairy Farm and Experimental Area Society held its first committee meeting and applied for incorporation under The Incorporated Societies Act.
Its objectives were to set up and run a model dairy farm, to encourage, promote and experiment in farming and promote and protect agricultural and pastoral interests.
The farm stems from the foresight of forward-thinking pioneer Stratford farmers who early in the 20th century recognised science would increase its role in farm production. They were keen to ensure Taranaki’s expanding dairying industry adopted and promoted new ideas and technology.
“They proposed to the government that a research and demonstration farm be set up. The government proved supportive in principle, but not to the extent of providing financial assistance,” Kivell says.
“Faced with this setback, in true pioneering spirit the local farmers fund-raised, bought the farm and formed an incorporated society to own and manage it.”
Initial annual membership cost 5/- and 100 years later fee remains at 50c. The members claim that a nil fee increase for 100 years is unique in all the annals of financial management.
Governments have over the years often supported the research work of the farm, paying for personnel and materials, but the farm ownership, policy and management has remained controlled by the society.
The centennial will be marked by a book outlining the history of the farm, its work and the people involved.
