Ahuwhenua Trophy Finalists Announced for 2025

The finalists for this year's Ahuwhenua Trophy - Excellence in Māori Farming (Sheep & Beef) are:

• Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust (pictured below right); and
• Tawapata South Māori Incorporation Onenui Station (pictured below left)

The Ahuwhenua Trophy is the most prestigious award for Māori agriculture and was inaugurated in 1933 by the great Māori Leader, Sir Apirana Ngata and the Governor General at the time, Lord Bledisloe. The objective was and still is to encourage Māori farmers to improve their land and their overall farming performance with an emphasis on sustainability. On a three year rotational basis, the Trophy is competed for by Māori farmers and growers in the sheep and beef, dairy and horticultural sectors. This year the competition is for sheep and beef.

Nukuhia Hadfield, Chair of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee, says it is fantastic to see these excellent finalists who will add to the impressive alumni created by this award. She says the last few years have been hard for all sheep and beef farmers around the country as they have fought to stay in business against the odds of adverse weather and lower prices, especially for sheep meat.

“Māori farmers have been among the worst affected by the adverse weather given that many are in areas such as the East Coast of the North Island which bore the brunt of cyclone Gabrielle and other heavy rainstorms. I live in this region and know first-hand what our communities have endured,” she says.

Nukuhia Hadfield says Māori are intergenerational farmers, meaning that while they want to get their properties up and running as quickly as others, they are equally concerned that any such repairs will be of such good quality as to protect the land for future generations. “A philosophy that is both practical and sensible, and one that is catching on in the wider agri-sector,” she says.

Nukuhia Hadfield says the other encouraging news for Māori was contained in a recent MPI report which shows that the asset base of Māori collectives (trusts, incorporations and other entities but not individual farmers) has risen from $6 billion in 2013 to $19 billion in 2023. She says this data shows conclusively that Māori are a real force in the NZ economy.

She adds that the future for Māori-agri is very bright judging by the calibre of rangatahi Māori entering the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award. She says every year a new cohort of young people come through this competition and go onto greater things. The names of this year’s finalists will be announced soon.

The finalists in the senior Ahuwhenua Trophy competition will each hold a public field day at their respective properties. Each day runs from 9.00am – 3.30pm and all are welcome. Further details, including start point addresses, will be posted on the Ahuwhenua Trophy website and Facebook page. 

Field day dates

• Thursday 3 April – Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust
• Thursday 10 April – Tawapata South Māori Incorporation Onenui Station

The winner will be announced at the awards dinner held on Friday 6 June 2025 at Fly Palmy Arena, in Papaioea, Palmerston North.

Media please note:

For further information contact Peter Burke on 021 224 2184 or [email protected]

Photos courtesy of Alphapix.

More details about the competition, including its history and past winners of the trophy are available at www.ahuwhenuatrophy.maori.nz.

Our thanks to our valued Ahuwhenua Trophy sponsors:
Platinum: Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry for Primary Industries

Gold: Te Tumu Paeroa, BNZ, NZ Mãori Tourism and Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Silver: Ballance Agri-Nutrients and PGG Wrightson

Bronze: BDO, Affco, FMG, Massey University, AgResearch and MBIE

Other: FarmIQ and Kono Wines

A big thanks also to sponsors of the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award:

Kaitautoko Tuatahi: Te Tumu Paeroa

Kaitautoko Taketake: Primary ITO, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Te Puni Kōkiri