Local Māori Young Farmer Finalist

Chloe Butcher-Herries, Puketapu beef farmer is finalist in the prestigious Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year award.

Added 2 years ago

By Brenda Newth

A Puketapu beef farmer is one of three finalists in the prestigious Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year award.

Hawke’s Bay born wahine Chloe Butcher-Herries (Ngāti Mahanga, Waikato-Tainui), assistant farm manager for Newstead Farms, says she is humbled to be a finalist.

“I’m really honoured. It’s all a bit surreal, to be involved with it really. The other finalists I’m up against have massive experience; it’s going to be a good competition.”

Chloe began her farming career at 16, straight from school, working as a shepherd. At the time, her role was about following instructions, moving stock, without understanding the ‘why’.

“Four years of my life was mustering. It’s good to learn why we are doing things.”

After completing farming studies through Ag ITO, at the encouragement of her employers, Chloe says she is “late in getting to the science of farming”.

“I started to step up a bit, and learn more from good employers. In the last three years, I have started to get some qualifications under my belt. I’ve just completed Level Three and Four in Sheep and Beef, and will be starting a Diploma in Primary Industry studies in September.

“I’m excited to do my diploma,” she says.

Chloe says she was hooked on farming from a young age. “As soon as I got out of town, and onto my Uncle’s farm, I felt a huge connection to the whenua. I loved it; especially the animals and being out in the environment.”

Fast forward two decades and 30 year-old Chloe is in her fifth season at Newstead, working for Robert and Helen Pattullo.

Newstead Farm is a 935 hectare hill country farm (750 effective), operating a bull beef system, that buys and grows on 1,150 rising two year Friesian bulls every May. The animals are managed via an 80 day round in mobs of 42 across permanent 20 hectare areas, broken into 1ha cells.

“It’s a beautiful rotation,” she explains. “As soon as they’re finished in that cell, it’s resting, and the bulls aren’t back on that pasture for a full 80 days. It’s about looking after the pasture and animals and utilising the land a lot better.”

The bulls are sold from early November, with all off the farm by the beginning of February. “We’re keeping summer safe, and resting the pasture. It’s a great system, and the farm has fared pretty well through the recent droughts. I take my hat off to Robert, he’s built a great system.”

Speaking about the influence and support of the Pattullos, Chloe says they are great people. “They have backed me all the way, both on and off the farm, and encouraged me to enter the awards.

“Robert is so open to letting his people learn. I’ve learnt so much in the past four years,” she says.

Chloe’s boss, Robert Pattullo, says Chloe is extremely passionate about the whenua which she lives and works on.

“She has embraced our farming and livestock policy and taken it to another level. Chloe has further enhanced our regenerative type pastoral farming system of long pasture covers, long stock rotations and destocking almost entirely over the summer months through her use of the Farmax software programme and very good hands-on management through her mahi.

“The learning all the team at Newstead has taken from Chloe is the deep spiritual connection she has with the whenua, the water and the environment which she farms. The kaitiakitanga (guardianship) which she has introduced to care for our land and to appreciate and understand ourselves why we all care so passionately for the land we farm.

“Never one to sit still, Chloe’s current project is to understand Newstead’s greenhouse gas emissions profile, and how to influence that through managing the livestock on farm more efficiently and creating more carbon sinks through indigenous and production timber planting,” he says.

As to her future, Chloe says that bigger farm management roles are in her future.

“With the study backing me up and the experience I’ve had on the farms I’ve been on, I’m definitely heading into that management role. I know Robert wants me to manage his farm, and I feel certain I will. In my future I would love to manage a sheep and beef farm and train our younger rangatahi to not only be in the industry, but to enjoy it and learn. I want to ‘open my gates up’ and just back them the whole way. I’d love to do that. I got the opportunity from my Uncle, and I’d love to give the opportunity to someone who doesn’t have it.

“In the near future, I’d love to run a Maori-owned trust and take that organisation to the overall Ahuwhenua trophy, which is the farm of the year award. That would be a dream come true.”

Chloe says that being part of the young Māori farmer award has brought her closer to her Maori culture. She has been taking night classes in Te Reo and will be studying Te Reo at EIT later this year.

The Ahuwhenua Young Māori Famer Award was inaugurated in 2012 for young Māori working in the agricultural sector. It is for people who have or are working in the sheep and beef industry. The other 2022 finalists are Puhirere Te-Akainga Tamanui Tau and Rameka Eli Edwards. The winner will be announced at the awards dinner, on Friday 21 October at the Pettigrew Green Arena, Taradale.

Between now and the awards dinner the young farmer finalists will attend at least one of three Ahuwhenua field days for further judging and networking, and then a study tour in Hawke’s Bay between 18-20 October.