Omapere Farm, the 902ha-effective lakeside beef and sheep farm of the Omapere-Rangihamama Trust, was shown to more than 150 people, who were also hosted on the Ngapuhi marae, Kohewhata.
Two further field days will be held at Puketawa Station, Eketahuna, on April 27, and on Pukepoto Farm Trust, Ongarue, on May 4.
The 2017 awards dinner will be in Whangarei on May 26.
Sponsored by the Bank of New Zealand, this year’s awards are for excellence on Maori-owned sheep and beef farms.
Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee chairman Kingi Smiler said the contest and the presentation of the finalist farms keeps growing each year.
“We spend a lot of time gathering the details of each property ‑ its history, governance, farm management and financials, plus benchmarking with like farms.
“Those people coming to the field days can pick up on that material and ask the right questions, because as we know a key part of farming is implementing the right policies at the right time.
“Many annual reports for Maori farming enterprises around the country now put in benchmarking data to build confidence among shareholders about how well they are doing relative to everyone else.”
Smiler said across all Maori-owned primary sector businesses there was a drive to performance sustainability and resilience for the benefit of generations to come.
Omapere-Rangihamama Trust was a good example of sustainable environmental practices hand in hand with financial performance and social enterprises, he had observed.
It had fenced its waterways and protected and enhanced its taonga tupuna, especially Putahi maunga and Lake Omapere.
The Kaikohe-based trust had contributed more than $15 million into the community over the past decade under new leadership, trustee Te Tuhi Robust said.
Its key objective was natural resource management, because its two farms were on show 24-7, adjoining the town and split by the Twin Coast Cycle Trail – Pou Herenga Tai.
Omapere Farm, occupying the south side of the lake edge, wintered about 1200 bulls, 80 beef cows and 1600 ewes. Bull calves were bought between three and eight months of age and processed at 21-27 months, at a target weight of about 600kg liveweight.
The lake boundary was fenced off from stock access in 2006-07, including riparian planting averaging 50-70m wide.
The farm operated with three full-time staff members led by manager Lloyd Brennan, plus a casual trainee shepherd. It also had a five-person farm committee that reported to the board of trustees under chairman Sonny Tau.
The trust also owned a dairy farm producing 190,000kg milksolids annually, more than 300ha of forests, land for a forest nursery, leased-out a quarry and overwintered 200 beehives.
Lake Omapere is the only Maori-owned lake in the country.
