Ngai Tahu looks beyond the horizon
For the first time in its 83-year history, the Ahuwhenua Trophy for Maori farming is being contested by two South Island finalists – as well as one from Waikato. Tony Benny talked to chief executive Andrew Priest at Ngai Tahu Farming’s field day.
Standing on one of the seven dairy farms Ngai Tahu Farming has developed near Oxford in North Canterbury, it’s hard to credit the lush, irrigated pasture stretching into the distance was covered by radiata pine plantation as recently as five years ago.
Since the first farm came onstream in the 2012-13 season, the pace of development has been giddying and though dairy expansion has slowed this season, Ngai Tahu is committed to developing a total 13 farms carrying 15,000 cows.
Chief executive of Ngai Tahu Farming, Andrew Priest, has been in the role since July 2015, previously running his own consultancy, working with medium-sized businesses, mostly in the South Island but also Australia.
His only previous rural links were as a director for Mayfield Hinds irrigation company and farm service supplier, Ashburton Trading Society, but he’s thriving in his new job.
‘‘I really like the ag sector. For me, the big challenge for agriculture is offsetting its environmental footprint globally, not just in New Zealand and not just for Ngai Tahu. If there’s one organisation that genuinely looks at that inter-generational view, it’s Ngai Tahu,’’ Priest says.
Ngai Tahu took over the 6757ha forestry land as part its treaty settlement in 1998, along with a 9500ha block in Balmoral, further north near Culverden, 49,000ha on the West Coast, 26,000ha of which is radiata pine forest, and 30,000ha in three high country stations near Queenstown.
Priest oversees a diverse farming business that includes dairy, sheep and beef and forestry, but last week it was the dairy operation, not far out of Christchurch, that was taking most of his attention as the Ahuwhenua Trophy judges delved deep into the operation for a full day and then judged a field day attended by close to 300 people.
One of the things that makes Ngai Tahu Farming different from other businesses Priest has worked for in the past is its ‘‘quadruple bottom-line’’ policy that as well as addressing usual triple bottom-line concerns – economic, social and environmental – also includes values and culture.
‘‘I like the philosophy of how the iwi makes decisions because there’s genuine thinking about the implications of what’s being done and what the implications are inter-generationally.
‘‘That value really resonates with me,’’ Priest says.
‘‘The difference for me with a genuine quadruple bottom-line is the challenge that when the times get tough, you don’t compromise the other things you’re doing relative to the economic pillar.
‘‘It’s easy to default to that, to say, ‘we have no money so we’ll do no training for our people and sorry, but those nice-to-have environmental programmes are going on hold’. We’re not doing that.
‘‘We’re looking very strongly at earnings and our profitability but we also look at it over a longer time period. It’s not just thinking of the horizon being the end of this payout year. We’re thinking about how, over a cycle, what happens for the next generation. That puts a different context around the social and environmental and values aspects you’re doing with your business.’’
Called Te Whenua Hou, the dairy operation is fully irrigated and Ngai Tahu Farming is a shareholder in Waimakariri Irrigation that takes water from the nearby Waimakariri River. Water has been key to transforming land once deemed fit only for forestry into highly productive pasture.
With widespread concern about the environmental effects of the region’s mass conversion to dairying in Canterbury, Ngai Tahu is working with Lincoln University and has installed lysimeters to accurately measure nutrient loss instead of relying solely on Overseer, the computer modelling programme almost exclusively used under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.
‘‘We’re asking about the carbon footprint associated with our farming activities and how we are impacting climate change.
‘‘ If we can develop measures to offset these impacts then that’s of value to share with the entire industry.
‘‘We’re so small relative to global consumption, to me it’s about New Zealand growing the pie, not just Ngai Tahu growing its bit.’’
In Priest’s view, addressing those environmental concerns is key to New Zealand securing its place in world markets.
‘‘The global food story is a compelling one.
‘‘Food production has to double by 2050 to feed the world and I think New Zealand is very wellpositioned to help meet that need.
‘‘With growing middle-class wealth, people will start asking about animal welfare, water quality and soil health – in short, what is your sustainability story?
‘‘I think that if the New Zealand industry can position itself with an equally compelling story around sustainability, then I think we’re much better positioned to target the higher-value consumer.
Further down the track he’s keen for the business to look at where it wants to be in the value chain, for example producing Ngai Tahu-branded food products, though he says any development would need to be consistent with the values of the iwi.
‘‘It’s more looking at the aspirations of the iwi, where they may want us to go so if there’s an aspiration around developing a food business, as distinct from waving goodbye to the tanker at the gate, then we’re looking at that at the moment.
‘‘Everyone talks about valueadded and I know from my time in wood processing overseas with Carter Holt Harvey, that it’s easy to say but hard to do, so we’ve very conscious of that.
‘‘We’d be developing a brand that would be very consistent with the values of the iwi as far as any food strategy.’’
Ngai Tahu has recently bought a stake in honey company Watson and Sons and there is potential to expand that business across Ngai Tahu-owned land.
And it is watching the move by Landcorp and others into sheep-- milking, with interest.
‘‘You’ve got to be careful that these things aren’t all the new rage but we’ve seen what Landcorp and Spring Sheep Dairy are doing and that’s pretty impressive, so that’s another option for us.’’
From the Ngai Tahu Te Whenua Hou farms, the Ahuwhenua Trophy judges moved on to the other South Island finalist, Rakaia Incorporation’s Tahu a Tao farm near Ashburton. They’ll also visit the third finalist, Tewi Trust’s farm near Tirau in South Waikato.
The winner will be named at a dinner in Hamilton on May 20.