Focus Genetics selectively breeds rams, bulls and stags for meat production. The company has sheep breeding operations in Australia, South America and the United Kingdom.
Houpapa, who has a background in strategic and economic development, mostly around iwi and Maori, but also in the government sector, said Landcorp was looking at its core business with a focus on producing better returns - on and off the farm - for the government and for the agriculture sector in general.
The near 50 per cent decline in milk prices since February has made its presence felt in Landcorp's operating earnings forecast for the 2014/15 June year, and the company now expects a profit of between $1 million and $6 million, down from its previous forecast of $8 million to $12 million.
Houpapa said Landcorp was fortunate to have locked in a maximum allocation under Fonterra's guaranteed milk price scheme, which last year was set at $7 a kg, and was continuing to explore opportunities to lock in a greater share of production into fixed price contracts.
The company had a bumper year in 2013/14, reporting an operating profit of $30 million, up from $13 million in the previous year, mostly reflecting good growing conditions.
Traci Houpapa says Landcorp has the right balance in its farming operations. Photo / Duncan Brown
While many farmers - particularly dairy farmers - have moved to greater stock intensification, Houpapa said Landcorp had the right balance.
"There is a point of diminishing return in terms of any intensification process, so we are very clear that our farming model and our farming systems look at land optimisation and herd optimisation, and I think we have kind of got that right," she said.
Houpapa expected dairy prices to bounce but in the meantime Landcorp was enjoying very strong beef prices. She said Landcorp, once part of the now extinct Lands and Survey Department, was getting more involved in a number of joint ventures with iwi and Maori settlement claimant groups.
Part of Landcorp's role is to hold lands on behalf of the Crown as part of the Treaty settlement process.
Houpapa said Landcorp had an important part to play in modelling farm systems and was increasingly looking at joint venture partnerships with iwi and Maori organisations.
On the Hauraki Plains, the Hauraki Collective has bought a number of Landcorp farms as part of a settlement package. Landcorp is providing farm management systems for the dairy farms while the iwi transition to their own management, she said.
"It's smart joint venture ... because the more we can grow farms across the country, the better it is for the country."
Landcorp
*New Zealand's largest farmer.
*Owns or manages 137 dairy, beef, sheep and deer farms.
*Has 1.6 million stock units on 376,942 ha of land.
*Produces 18,000 tonnes of milk solids, 10,000 tonnes of sheep meat, 10,000 tonnes of beef, 3500 tonnes of wool, 2500 tonnes of venison and 8 tonnes of deer velvet a year.
