RAMEKA Edwards was the King Country entry for last year's sheep and beef contest.
Entries to select the top Māori dairy farm for the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy competition are invited from Māori dairy farmers, trusts and other entities around the country.
Details on how to enter the competition, including judging criteria are on the Ahuwhenua Trophy website.
The initial judging of entrants takes place early in the new year with the finalists announced at Parliament in late February. The finalists then stage field days during late March and early April. The winner of the competition will be announced at the awards dinner in Hamilton in May.
Ahuwhenua Trophy chair Nukuhia Hadfield said the competition was an excellent opportunity for Māori to showcase their dairy farming operations.
Not enough people in Aotearoa knew about or understood the contribution Māori made to the economy. Māori contributed more than 10% of the total earnings of the dairy industry, Nukuhia said.
Nukuhia and her husband, Bart, are previous winners of the Ahuwhenua Trophy for sheep and beef and she says as farmers, just as entrants, let alone winners, was hugely beneficial to them.
“As part of the judging process, each farm is carefully evaluated by an experienced team of rural professionals and as part of the process they offer insightful comments that will benefit the owners. We certainly found this to be the case, and others who have entered have said the same thing,” Nukuhia said.
The organisers hope to see a significant number of entrants for the 2024 competition and she urges industry groups and rural professionals to encourage Māori farmers, trusts and incorporations to enter.
The competition was inaugurated in 1933 by the then Governor General Lord Bledisloe and one of te ao Māori’s greatest leaders, Sir Apirana Ngata. The objective then, and still is, to foster the growth and development of Māori in livestock farming and horticulture. The competition is held annually and rotates between dairy, sheep and beef and horticulture. In 2024, the competition is for dairy.
