Tuesday, 25 May 2021 14:55

Great examples of Maori farming

Written by  Peter Burke
Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor at the awards. Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor at the awards.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor lavished praise on Tataiwhetu saying he had the privilege of attending the field day on their farm in April and saw for himself the work they have put into upgrading the property.

He says he was also aware that the properties of the other two finalists were also great examples of excellence in Māori farming. He says it’s a pity more people don’t see at first hand the quality of Māori farms.

“At the awards dinner the Ambassador for Japan spoke to me and said it was a wonderful night because it gave him an insight into some of the history of Māori culture and the land which he compared to what happens in some places in Japan. I guess inviting more people to be exposed to that would be a wonderful development,” he says.

O’Connor says NZ has the opportunity to be unique in the world and part of that is incorporating Māori values in the partnership that is NZ. He says values such as manaakitanga, meaning respect, humility, kindness and honesty, Kaitiakitanga, meaning guardianship and protection, and Te Taiao, the environment that contains and surrounds us, are special values. He says if NZ can capture that and implement it well, the world is our oyster and we will be the premium producers for the world.

O’Connor who heads for Europe soon to try and kick start important free trade talks with UK and Europe says the Ahuwhenua awards are a great example of what NZ is about.

“I would to kind of bottle up what we have here tonight and take it and deliver it in a short sharp burst to all the ministers we trade with, and give them an understanding of the passion we have for the land and what we are trying to do in terms of development,” he says.

O’Connor also praised the contribution that former Agriculture Minister John Luxton has made to the dairy industry. Luxton, who is ill, came along to the awards evening and says he enjoyed every minute of his time there meeting old friends and colleagues. O’Connor described Luxton as a stalwart and champion of the dairy industry and it was great to see him at the event. Luxton is also chairman of Pouarua Farms – one of this year’s finalists in the competition.

Praise from Fonterra

Fonterra chairman Peter McBride who was at the awards dinner says Maori farming and leadership is really valuable and says that it's important that the awards recognise this. He says he was really impressed with all the contestants, including those in the Young Maori Farmer competition.

"Maori think intergenerationally and that is really important for an intergenerational co-operative. So the question is 'how do we bring that into Fonterra' and that's what we have to be focused on - Maori values in Fonterra. Not just into the narrative but actually I want them (Maori) to feel included and I think these awards are really important," he says.

McBride says that's why Fonterra is proud to be a sponsor of the awards.

More like this

Top Māori sheep and beef farms showcase excellence in Ahuwhenua Trophy field days

Recently two of New Zealand's top Maori sheep and beef farms held field days as part of the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy competition. The two are: Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust, northeast of Whangarei, and the proprietors of Tawapata Onenui farm on Mahia Peninsula in southern Hawke's Bay. Reporter Peter Burke attended both field days.

Rain brings joy at Māori field day

The drought breaking rain in Northland was greeted with much joy and delight by the more than 200 people who turned out last week for a field day at the farm of Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust near the east coast settlement of Whangaruru, about 70km from Whangarei.

Ahuwhenua Trophy finalists announced

Farms from Northland and northern Hawke's Bay are the finalists in this year's Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for the top Māori sheep and beef farms.

Top Maori farms named

Maori farms from Northland and Northern Hawkes Bay are the finalists in this year’s prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy competition  for the top Maori sheep and beef farm.

Featured

Aussie farmers get A$8.60/kgMS as opening milk price

Australian dairy farmers supplying Fonterra are getting an opening weighted average milk price of A$8.60/kgMS for the new season or around NZ$9.26/kgMS -  NZ74c less than New Zealand suppliers, based on the current exchange rate.

National

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

Machinery & Products

Shearing legend hooked on CanAm

Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs…

50 years of tractor pull

This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling…

The Wrangler's birthday bash

It's the Wrangler Limited’s 30th birthday and to celebrate the milestone a prototype of the E Series Wrangler - a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Free speech

OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter