increase font size
Entries for the Ahuwhenua Trophy for horticulture have opened.
Māori involved in the horticulture sector are being urged to sign up and enter next year's Ahuwhenua Trophy competition in Māori Horticulture.
Entries are now open for the competition. It was launched by HortNZ president Barry O'Neil at his organisation's AGM in Nelson recently.
The Ahuwhenua Trophy is held annually and over a three-year cycle covers dairy, sheep and beef and horticulture. The inaugural competition for horticulture was held in 2020.
The competition objective is to recognise excellence in Māori horticulture and is open to individual Māori running horticultural operations, as well as other entities - such as Māori trusts and incorporations.
O'Neil says the competition showcases the tremendous work that Māori are doing to further the industry, as well as their own iwi and whānau.
"The inaugural 2020 horticulture competition highlighted an intrinsic commitment to the whenua, awa and people," he says. "I look forward to the coming year as once again, we work together to promote passion and good practice, as the kaitiaki of Aotearoa."
Chair of the Ahuwhenua Committee, which runs the competition, Nukuhia Hadfield says in the past decade more Māori have become major investors in the horticulture sector and this has resulted in good financial returns and jobs for its people. She says there is still much more to do but is sure with the positive publicity that the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition generates, more Māori will be encouraged to become involved in the sector.
"In all major horticultural areas around the country, there is clear evidence that Māori are setting up new horticultural businesses or further developing established ones and are major contributors to a sector, which in the past year earned $6.5 billion for the economy of NZ," she says.
Hadfield is urging Māori horticultural enterprises to take the next step and showcases their operations to Aotearoa by entering this competition. She says this is a unique opportunity to demonstrate the innovation and quality, along with genuine sustainability which sits behind Māori horticultural businesses.
Entries close Friday 9 December and the finalists will be announced in February 2023. After that field days will be held in April/May and the winner will be announced at an awards dinner in Tauranga in June 2023.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) and the Government will provide support to growers in the Nelson-Tasman region as they recover from a second round of severe flooding in two weeks.
HortNZ's CEO, Kate Scott says they are starting to see the substantial cumulative effects on their members of the two disastrous flood events in the Nelson Tasman region.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says that commercial fruit and vegetable growers are getting ahead of freshwater farm plan regulations through its Growing Change project.
Nominations are open for three positions on the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board.
More Māori land is being used for growing commercial fruit and vegetables, according to a new report commissioned by Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ).
August 6 marks Farm Worker Appreciation Day, a moment to recognise the dedication and hard mahi of dairy farm workers across Aotearoa - and DairyNZ is taking the opportunity to celebrate the skilled teams working on its two research farms.
OPINION: The Government has been seeking industry feedback on its proposed amendments to a range of Resource Management Act (RMA) national direction instruments.
A Taupo company says it's the first to bring CO₂-powered water heating technology to New Zealand dairy sheds, helping farmers cut energy costs by up to 85%.
Waikato is home to a diverse range of lakes, and experts say they urgently need better management and restoration.
Federated Farmers is renewing its call for Greenpeace to be stripped of its charitable status immediately, following the activist group's latest publicity stunt.
Kiwis love their butter, and that's great because New Zealand produces some of the best butter in the world. But when the price of butter goes up, it's tough for some, particularly when many other grocery staples have also gone up and the heat goes on co-operative Fonterra, the country's main butter maker. Here the co-op explains why butter prices are so high right now.
