Minister of Maori Affairs Dr Pita Sharples made the announcement at a special awards evening held in Tauranga on Friday.
The trophy was presented to the Chairman of Te Rua o Te Moko, Dion Maaka, by Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae.
Maaka was also presented with a replica of the trophy by Hon Nathan Guy and received the winner's medal from the chief executive of the Bank of New Zealand, Anthony Healy. The trust also won about $40,000 in prizes donated by sponsors.
Te Rua o Te Moko is situated close to Hawera and runs 500 Kiwicross cows on a 170ha effective milking platform.
In its fifth season, it is a highly successful operation producing 190,000 kg milksolids (MS). What is special about this operation is that it is an amalgam of four separate Maori trusts that have combined their resources to create an economically and environmentally sustainable dairy operation.
Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee chairman Kingi Smiler said Te Rua o Te Moko was a shining example of how Maori are collaborating, with small trusts co-operating to create larger, more economically viable enterprises which serve local people and New Zealand better.
"A feature of this year's competition is that all the finalists were an amalgam of smaller entities which had put aside their individual interests for the greater good of a larger whanau.
“This collaborative approach began 81 years ago when the Minister of Maori Affairs, Sir Apirana Ngata, encouraged Maori work in this way.
“Today the collaborative approach is gaining greater momentum and as we see in this Ahuwhenua Trophy event, resulting in some outstanding achievements," he said.
Wiremu Reid was named Ahuwhenua Young Maori Dairy Farmer of the Year. Currently in his first year of 50:50 sharemilking, he hopes to own a farm by the age of 30. Reid is from Whangarei and now farms in Southland.
He was impressed by the high calibre of the other entrants and believes Maori are well suited to farming.
"Maori have key attributes that makes us good farmers – humour, ability to get the work done, and a connection with the land.”
