Te Hou farm joint venture progressing well

Record dairy prices, a new milking shed and the development of top-quality beef are all positives in the progress of Te Hou farm, a joint venture between Ātihau- Whanganui Incorporation and Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa.

Originally a three-way partnership between the Incorporation, Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa, and brothers Hew and Roger Dalrymple, who own the neighbouring Waitatapia Station, in 2020 the iwi bought out the Dalrymples to take a two-thirds shareholding.

“The Dalrymples have played a big hand in the development of Te Hou,” says Pahia Turia, chair of Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa.

“We weren’t expecting them to exit quite so early, but we took the opportunity to buy their shareholding.

“And we are extremely grateful to Ātihau for their farming expertise.

“The operation was too big for us to handle as a single entity, so the partnership with Ātihau has been invaluable – they’ve been in the game a lot longer than we have.

“And, of course, it was important for us to partner with an organisation that is based on the same values.”

He says the business is performing well.

“We have had a record high dairy pay-out, and we are building a new automated dairy shed, which will be ready next year. The one we have is 25 years old.”

By June 2023, Te Hou aims to be producing 540 kilograms of milksolids per cow from a herd of 1300 on the 400ha dairy farm.

“And we are transitioning from supplying Open Country to Fonterra. It’s time for a change and we like the model of a co-operative that Fonterra offers.”

Te Hou, which is located 15km east of Bulls at Parewanui, has also embarked on a breeding programme with Wagyu cattle to produce highvalue beef on the 800-hectare dry stock farm.

Blueberries have also been introduced as a trial crop, grown in tunnels on a two-hectare plot.

“We are coming to year three of the trials, so this will be our first real production crop and we will have a look at how that progresses,” says Pahia.

“Like anything new, you have your challenges so, at this point, we are not making a commitment to longterm blueberry production.”

He said the focus would be on the core business and maximising the existing areas of operation.

“That said, the farm has lots of potential.”

A major fencing and planting scheme shows the commitment to reducing the impacts on the environment. The past year has seen seven hectares of riparian planting to protect waterways and an extra 6km of fencing.

“We want Te Hou to lead the way with its environmental focus and be an example to others,” says Pahia.

Jarred Clode is the Operations Manager at Te Hou, having started there in 2017 as a unit manager on the dairy farm.

One of a 10-man team all provided with on-site housing, he now has oversight of the whole 1225ha operation.

“It’s a really good team here and we have been busy fencing and contouring a sand hill to bring another 30ha into production,” says Jarred.

“We have boosted maize production to a million tonnes for the dairy herd, so we don’t have to buy in expensive feed.

“This year we suffered a bit due to the dry summer, but generally the weather does not affect us too much. We have very good soil types and a good climate and are usually insulated from extremes of weather.

“The coming year is looking good.”