Ngati Awa is aiming to reclaim 960ha over the next four years to add to their current ownership of 473ha plus 82ha that’s leased.
Ngati Awa Group Holdings chief executive Enid Ratahi-Pryor told a field day on Ngati Awa Farms’ 158ha Ngakauroa Farm, their first major asset purchase since a Waitangi Treaty settlement, that by 2018 they want to be milking a total of 5000 cows on various holdings.
She told more than 300 people that solid dairy payouts were progressing a strategy to increase Ngati Awa’s farming platform and the group was actively looking for more land to lease.
“We are targeting land blocks using geographic information system technology to identify all farms in the area and negotiations are ongoing currently for 300ha,” she said.
“The idea is to add more land to our platform so all you Maori land owners, contact me.”
A second farm purchased last year, Tumurau, has a dairy platform of 315ha and although the motivation is to improve economies of scale, to reduce costs per unit output, there was also a consideration of whanau ties.
In a Ngakauroa Farm backgrounder the Tumurau purchase was described as not only improving the viability of Ngati Awa’s farm business “but also reinforces our manaakitanga (hospitality) of our smaller Ngati Awa trusts”.
“Increasing the Ngati Awa farming footprint not only makes sense commercially but helps achieve the moemoea (vision) of our tupuna (grandparents), the return of Ngati Awa lands for the benefit of the mokopuna (grandchildren).”
A return on assets (ROA) for Ngakauroa of 5.9% was reported by the group’s chief financial officer, Mana Newton, who compared it with an average ROA of 3.5% for dairy farms in the region. Similarly Ngakauroa’s operating profit of $2634/ha last year was well above a regional average of about $1600/ha.
“We have since committed a large investment in pivot irrigation to produce more grass and mitigate against risks so we can maintain a sustainable production level and focus on costs,” he said.
Leased land is integral to the expansion strategy with the addition of 46ha of Maori-owned land since 2012 enabling more cows to be added to the Ngakauroa herd that last year had produced 174,260kg milksolids (MS) from 520 cows. This season the increased herd of 620 cows was on track to produce 235,000kg MS with a lift from 335kg/cow last season to more than 380kg MS this season.
The lease of a further 36ha began last year and is used as a support block until access to Ngakauroa’s milking platform can be negotiated.
Lying 12km from Whakatane, Ngakauroa Farm was purchased three years after the tribe’s Waitangi Treaty settlement with the Crown in 2005 and is run by Ngati Awa Group Holdings, the commercial arm of the tribal council Te Runanga o Ngati Awa, which represents 22 hapu, 18 marae and 22,000 members. The group has investments in forestry, fishing, tourism and property and in Ngati Awa Farms has a 51% share with the balance owned by various trusts affiliated to Ngati Awa.
Te Runanga o Ngati Awa environment manager, Ray Thompson, said a sustainable farming model involving outside consultants had led to wintering stock off the farm, a major investment in pivot irrigation and two years of aerating soil to reduce nitrate losses that will continue on a downward trend.
“Ngati Awa plan to own this property forever so we have a conservative approach to using the land,” he said.
Rotorua-based AgFirst farm consultant Peter Livingston said reduced whey application as fertiliser and nitrogen spread at less than 25kg N/ha a pass were having the desired impact. There have also been improvements to drainage to prevent pugging and 65% of the herd are wintered off the farm.
Solids separation in the effluent system, to be spread on maize blocks that are regrassed into pasture, and improved water efficiency will also reduce nitrogen losses in a pasture-based system growing 12.5-13 tonnes DM/ha/year alongside 2-2.5t DM of supplement/ha/year made up of maize and grass silage, hay and palm kernel.
“Barberry hedge lines were taken out in early winter and better grass sown there with plantain while under the pivot irrigator we can get two years from annual grasses,” he said.
“In areas without irrigation we need more robust varieties, including plantain.”
Lower-order sharemilkers Mike Learmond and Donna Constantine are coming to the end of their fourth season with Ngati Awa and are keen to continue with a contract for 21% share of milk revenue.
“The main achievement here has been the growth of the farm,” Mike said.
“We started with 480 cows on 140ha and now have 620 cows on 186ha, which will stay at that number this coming season until more land can be secured.”
In their second season at Ngakauroa they discovered a hard subsoil pan of peat causing ponding in sand and pumice paddocks. For the past two years they’ve used a soil aerator to improve soil moisture absorption and consequent pasture root growth.
“Aeration sped up grass growth and knocked 10 days off a two-week delay we have until growth exceeds demand in spring, which seems to be the standard delay for most whey farms around Edgecumbe.”
They also apply gibberellic acid to further boost pasture growth.
Other changes included a separation of the Friesian and Jersey-cross herd into two mobs, one for AI breeding for better quality replacements and the 130 lesser quality cows for mating to bulls. They moved to an earlier July 16 start to calving for 10% more days in milk and the calving period was shortened from 17 to 10 weeks without inductions.
Unlike most parts of the North Island, Te Teko received timely rain late in summer but it was reassuring to have 77ha under the recently installed pivot irrigator and another 70ha under a trailer-mounted irrigator with rotating booms.
“We can see for the next five years the size of this job will double and we’re very happy to be a part of that development and to grow our sharemilking business alongside Ngati Awa,” Mike said.
“We’re pretty lucky to have this opportunity without having to move out of the district,” Donna said.
She handles the farm’s calf rearing as well as the administration of their sharemilking business. Their staff have three-day weekends every second weekend with only milking required for onfarm weekends.
Key Points
Farm owner: Ngati Awa Farms
Farm name: Ngakauroa Farm
Location: Te Teko, Bay of Plenty
Milking platform: 186ha effective
Support block: 46ha effective
Peak cows milked: 620
Stocking rate: 3.3 cows/ha
Dominant breed: Jersey, Friesian-cross
Milksolids production (2013-14): 235,000kg milksolids (MS)
Supplements fed: 817kg/cow
Nitrogen applied: 96kg/ha
Return on dairy assets (2012-13): 5.9%.
