Inside Dairy
5 min read
From left, Tataiwhetu Trust chair Ngatai Hurkmans, Brooke Sinclair from DairyNZ, and farm managers Desma Feakins and Whare Teepa.
Tataiwhetu Trust saw its people leave the land as it was being leased out to others. This is the inspiring story of how they took back control of the land and went on to win the Ahuwhenua Trophy in 2021.
Transforming a number of small family-owned land holdings into a viable, sustainable farming business for future generations is no simple feat. It is one made even harder when there are multiple shareholders, and challenges to capital and skills at the outset.
But Tataiwhetu Trust of Ruatoki Valley in eastern Bay of Plenty is a tribute to what vision and leadership can carve out for today’s shareholders, as it also puts a stake in the ground for future generations to benefit from.
Ko Taiarahia te Maunga,
Ko Te Taumata te Pa o Tūhoe-Pōtiki,
Ko Ōhinemataroa te Awa,
Ko Tauarau te Pa,
Ko Rongokarae te Tipuna Whare,
Ko Ngati Rongo te Hapu,
Ko Ngāi Tūhoe te Iwi, Ko Mataatua te Waka.
Location: Ruatoki, eastern Bay of Plenty
Structure: Ahu Whenua Trust
Effective area: Two organic farm operations: 184ha and 60ha
Herd sizes: 390 cows and 158 cows
System: 3
Production: Total across 249ha milking platform: 155,353kg MS, plus 68ha support block
Tataiwhetu shareholders’ efforts to consolidate their land holdings in the 1970s and ‘80s has its origins in the efforts of revered Māori leader Sir Apirana Ngata. He worked tirelessly to roll back the increasing fragmentation of Māori land under the Native Land Court rulings, pushing to consolidate them into viable, commercial farming operations.
For Tataiwhetu this involved consolidating nine blocks of land held by six families into the original 97ha property.
“Back then, we were seeing people leave the land while we also leased land out, when we could have had our own farm there,” says board member Hiria Wallace.
She recalls as a young girl hearing the excited buzz around her home, learning her family were “getting a farm”.
“It really came from all the owners of the land wanting to have more control, to have a resource for future generations to benefit from.”
Led by long-time Tataiwhetu Trust chair, late farmer and businessman Paki Nikora, the trust quickly moved to establish a conventional dairy unit, then opted to pivot to organic dairy farming.
“I remember Paki and other shareholders expressing the view they wanted our land and whenua to be at the heart of the farming operation,” says Hiria.
Whānau explore the riparian margin planted by the late Matua Paki Nikora.
Organic farming offered a way to balance environmental goals with a value-driven business model.
The three-year transition process started in 2015, with the trust receiving its Fonterra Organic certification in 2019.
Long-time employee and now farm manager Desma Feakins has seen the move from the conventional 184ha dairy unit to organic, and she does not sugar coat the challenges they faced.
“It was a hard process back then to convert to organic. There were not a lot of resources around to call on for advice. You were pretty much on your own.”
She contrasts this with the agencies available today, saying there is exceptional support available from DairyNZ and Fonterra’s organic farming advisors.
We transitioned land and livestock both at the same time from scratch. Knowing what we know now, we would probably have done each separately, over a longer period.
In hindsight, she says, the “cold turkey” move to transition land and livestock would be done in stages and more gradually today.
“We transitioned land and livestock both at the same time from scratch. Knowing what we know now, we would probably have done each separately, over a longer period.”
The shift reduced cow numbers from 600 to 450 at the time. The farm also began carrying all replacement stock and producing its own hay and silage to reduce reliance on hard-to-source certified organic supplementary feed.
She also points to the value of ensuring things like wooden tanalised fence posts are all in place prior to conversion, and any problematic weeds requiring spraying out are dealt with. “But the appeal of moving how we did at the time was because the payout was looking so good for organic milk.”
The transition gained national recognition in 2021 when the trust won the Ahuwhenua Trophy for excellence in Māori dairy farming. Desma says the awards evening will always be one of the most memorable moments of her life.
The Tataiwhetu Trust won the Ahuwhenua Trophy in 2021.
Hiria says the award process made them look at every aspect of the operation. “When we signed up for the award, we really had no idea about the work involved.
We were given a template to fill out, and it covered details on every part of our operation,” she says.
DairyNZ plays an active role in sponsoring the Ahuwhenua Trophy, while also supporting entities considering entering the competition. Kaiārahi Ahuwhenua Brooke Sinclair says people may feel hesitant or whakamā when thinking about entering the awards.
“The criteria can seem a bit daunting, but we can support people to gather the business information they need, including the three years of DairyBase data to show where they currently sit.”
She says this process can help people decide if the timing is right to enter this year, or if they’d like to take more time to make improvements and enter in the future.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in this year’s competition. The Ahuwhenua Trophy isn’t about comparing entities; it looks at each entry and how they’re supporting their people and land.”
Hiria and chair Ngatai Hurkmans say entering ultimately sharpened the trust’s operations, formalising processes, and compelling them to look harder at where the business was and where it could go.
Ngatai points to the purchase of the trust’s second farm in the district coinciding with the Ahuwhenua award.
The owner, who was also farming organically, was leaving after 80 years of family ownership, and came to us with an offer.”
Today that 60ha farm is milking 158 cows, run by a farm manager. Both farms allow the trust to help foster the next generation of farmers, with Desma giving local students from Te Wharekura o Ruatoki the chance to learn and develop dairy farming skills on-farm.
Desma says with six years of experience in organics, handling annual audits and reporting is simpler and less stressful.
Mastitis and somatic cell management is often the biggest headache for organic farmers, one Desma says they have come to manage better over time.
A homeopathic tonic is supplied through the water lines to help manage it, and they are consistently keeping the herd’s bulk somatic cell count (SCC) under Fonterra’s 400,000 cells/mL limit.
The farm’s riverside boundary location is also proving its worth in helping to provide a buffer from the risk of conventional spray and contamination.
Fertiliser use focuses on a new formulation that incorporates AgriSea’s seaweed-based mix blended at a local Te Teko plant with lime, organic boron and sulphur. y
Pastures are more diverse under the organic system, with multiple species including red clover, plantain, cocksfoot, fescue and chicory in particular ensuring good pasture persistence over dry periods.
“We work on leaving residuals higher and this seems to have worked well, helping shade the soil in summer. We never seem as brown as neighbouring farms over drier periods.”
A future-focused tree-planting project will begin shortly to provide shelter, shade, fodder, medicinal properties and further drought mitigation. With the future front of mind, Tataiwhetu farms are doing more than producing organic milk. They’re creating pathways for local rangatahi to connect with farming and the whenua, carrying forward the vision first set in motion decades ago.
This article was originally published in Inside Dairy August-October 2026.
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