2024 Bay of Plenty Catchment Group Showcased – Paraiti Catchment Care Group This Bay of Plenty catchment group is led by farmers who are striving to protect and enhance the natural environment for future generations. Paraiti Catchment Care Group looks after a 2,400ha area that includes pastoral properties along with forests, horticulture and lifestyle blocks. Members […]
Region: Bay of Plenty
Paraiti Catchment Care Group – Bay of Plenty
Murray & Cecilia Winters and Chris & Karly Deed of Mangorewa Farms
2024 Bay of Plenty Finalists: Murray & Cecilia Winters and Chris & Karly Deed of Mangorewa Farms – Dairy Relationships, resilience and revitalisation provide the foundation for this successful Te Ranga dairy farm that has been owned by the Winters family since 1992. Current owners Murray and Cecilia Winters have owned it since 2019 after working […]
Kiri Tapsell of Pūkenga Farms
2024 Bay of Plenty Finalists: Kiri Tapsell of Pūkenga Farms – Kiwifruit and Beef A long-standing connection to the land drives Kiri Tapsell as he improves both profits and environmental performance at this Te Puke kiwifruit and beef property. Kiri grew up on Pūkenga Farms which was previously run by his grandfather and then his parents. […]
Mark Yortt and Greg Prince of Sunchaser Investments LP
2024 Bay of Plenty Finalists: Mark Yortt and Greg Prince of Sunchaser Investments LP – Avocado Located on the Bay of Plenty’s Motiti Island, this avocado production orchard sits on deep fertile volcanic soils which are being carefully and sustainably managed. Since 2004, Sunchaser has been owned by Mark and Gavin Yortt, with an investment partner […]
Blair Linton, Linda Ellison and Robert Linton of Te Ranga Farms
2024 Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winners: Blair Linton, Linda Ellison and Robert Linton of Te Ranga Farms – Beef The family behind Te Ranga Farms is focused on optimising the farming system, while protecting and enhancing its natural beauty and freshwater. The 296ha (176ha effective) farm has been in the Linton family since 1973. Since […]
Jonathon Boyle of Four Oaks Farm
2024 Bay of Plenty Finalist: Jonathon Boyle of Four Oaks Farm – Dairy, Avocado and Kiwifruit support The large-scale native planting projects at Four Oaks Farm illustrate both a commitment to the environment and a U-turn on the family’s farming approach. The Pongakawa property has been in the Benner and Boyle families for 125 years. […]
Elly Sharp, Ruan Nunes, David Stephenson & Francis Pauwels of Tirohanga Fruit Co Ltd
2023 Finalist: Elly Sharp, Ruan Nunes, David Stephenson & Francis Pauwels of Tirohanga Fruit Co Ltd – Horticulture Tirohanga Fruit Co is a family business that is growing great kiwifruit while being deeply committed to supporting its employees and wider community. Along with farming interests, the company predominantly grows kiwifruit, and people are at the […]
Ken Goldsmith, Hinehou Timutimu and Tyson Kelly of Te Tawa Pāmu – Te Kotahitanga Dairying & Pāmu Kaiwhakahaere
2023 Finalist: Ken Goldsmith, Hinehou Timutimu and Tyson Kelly of Te Tawa Pāmu – Te Kotahitanga Dairying & Pāmu Kaiwhakahaere – Dairy The commitment of Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust to its people and the land exemplifies its values of manaaki, whakawhanaunga, wairua, and kaitiaki. Te Tawa Pāmu, managed by Tyson Kelly of Te Kotahitanga Dairying, has farming […]
Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winners 2023: Olivia Manusauloa and Josh Easton of Baygold Ltd
Regional Supreme Winners 2023: Olivia Manusauloa and Josh Easton of Baygold Ltd – Horticulture Kiwifruit development and management company Baygold is a great example of a business that is integrating environmental excellence while producing kiwifruit. Baygold’s orchard, The Station, spans 32ha of rolling Bay of Plenty land, with 16ha of this planted in orchards. The […]
Shane & Alice and Shirley Armstrong of Armstrong Farming
2023 Finalists: Shane & Alice and Shirley Armstong of Armstrong Farming – Dairy Caring for the land and keeping family involved are firmly at the forefront for innovative fourth generation Bay of Plenty organic dairy farmers Shane and Alice Armstrong. The pair are behind Armstrong Farming, with connections to the land going back to Shane’s […]
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people – Helen Scott & Whiritoa Orchard
He aha te mea nui o te ao? Te tangata, te tangata, te tangata. This whakatauki speaks to the heart of Whiritoa Orchard operations. What makes this Bay of Plenty kiwi orchard so successful? “It is the people, it is the people, it is the people,” says orchard manager Helen Scott (iwi/hapu). Owned by Māori […]
Dell, Ross and Roger Bawden of Oceanview Orchard
2022 Finalists: Dell, Ross and Roger Bawden of Oceanview Orchard – Kiwifruit, Beef and Lamb Over the past 30 years, an uneconomical Te Puke property has been transformed into a thriving, profitable kiwifruit orchard under the careful stewardship of the Bawden family. Since buying the property, Ross, Dell and Roger Bawden have explored forestry, sheep […]
Winston Fleming of Kiwi Outback
2022 Finalists: Winston Fleming of Kiwi Outback – Dairy Grazing and Beef From abandoned farm to a profitable property rich with native forests and birds including the endangered kōkako – Winston Fleming’s life journey shows what one farmer can achieve against the odds. When his father bought the Rotorua farm in 1936, it was abandoned […]
Steve and Paula Holdem of Holdem Farm
2022 Finalists: Steve and Paula Holdem of Holdem Farm – Dairy Science and technology are being used to advantage at this Rotorua dairy farm, resulting in a property that is environmentally and financially sustainable – and a great place to live. After years of sharemilking, the Holdems purchased their farm in 2017 in partnership with […]
Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner 2022: Helen Scott (orchard manager) of Whiritoa Orchards
Regional Supreme Winner: Helen Scott (orchard manager) of Whiritoa Orchards – Kiwifruit The whānau behind this Whakatāne property has transformed a struggling kiwifruit orchard into a top performer while also caring for and improving the land. Whiritoa Gold and Whiritoa Organic orchards grow both conventional and organic gold kiwifruit across a total of 9 hectares. […]
John and Margaret Scrimgeour of Nikau Trust
2022 Finalists: John and Margaret Scrimgeour of Nikau Trust At their heart, John and Margaret Scrimgeour are dairy farmers but that hasn’t stopped them diversifying into highly successful avocado and kiwifruit orchards. The couple started sharemilking in the 1970s, quickly moving on to purchase their own property. They bought the first block of Nikau in […]
Bay of Plenty Catchment Group Award Winners 2022 – Uretara Estuary Managers Inc (Project Parore)
What began in 1999 as a group of concerned community members looking to improve the health of the estuary and environs near Katikati has expanded today to include all nine stream catchments that enter the northern Tauranga Harbour. The catchment group’s main objectives include conservation activities, supporting local recreational opportunities and enhancing indigenous biodiversity. To […]
Meet the BFEA Entrants from the Bay of Plenty Region
Dell, Ross and Roger Bawden Oceanview Orchard Ltd., Kiwifruit, Beef and lamb Since buying the property, 30 years ago, the Bawden family have transformed this uneconomical Te Puke property into a thriving, sustainable and profitable kiwifruit orchard. About 8ha flatland of the 30ha property is in kiwifruit. Production was stunning in 2020, with irrigation boosting […]
A return to the land for these organic kiwifruit growers
Both come from farming backgrounds on the East Coast. Catriona’s dairy farming parents were kiwifruit pioneers in the late 70s while Mark grew up 30 minutes inland on a sheep and beef farm. A list of business and lifestyle non-negotiables was drafted up and a search across all agricultural sectors began. One that returned them […]
2019 Bay Of Plenty Regional Supreme Winners
All waterways have been fenced and the family is now fencing off small areas of native bush featuring stands of large kahikatea. “We’re also rejuvenating these bush areas with our three young children helping to do additional planting.” A land management officer from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council has helped with planting, as well […]