Grants boost Hawke's Bay station's appeal

A view of part of Te Puna Station, just north of Wairoa in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Supplied

A hill country sheep and cattle grazing farm which benefited from the former Government's tree-planting grant programme, and is in a prime position to capitalise from a second similar funding scheme announced at the end of last year, has been placed on the market for sale.

Te Puna Station, just north of Wairoa in Hawke's Bay, is a 1594ha property with about 80ha of hillside planted in manuka — the preferred vegetation of apiarists because of the plant's appeal to bees.

The 80ha of 'manuka factor' plantings on Te Puna Station were laid down in 2016 under the then Government's Afforestation Grant Scheme (AGS) programme at a ratio of 1000 stems-per-hectare.

Te Puna's owners received $1300 per hectare under the programme – spending the one-off income injection to plant manuka, as well as on fencing maintenance and improvements.

Last year, the AGS scheme was replaced by the Government's One Billion Trees Fund, where new manuka and kanuka plantings are eligible to qualify for subsidies of up $1800 per hectare for new forested conversions of up to 300ha of dry stock or dairy farm land.

Implementation of the fund means any new owner of Te Puna can apply for a second manuka planting grant, which could net as much as $540,000 if processed.

Te Puna Station ranges from 120m to 740m above sea level, and receives more than 2m of rainfall annually. Stock records show Te Puna Station has carried 9477 stock units over the 2018 winter and has budgeted to carry 10,013 stock units for the 2019 winter.

The freehold property at 2775 Mangapoike Rd, which also has extensive buildings and farm infrastructure, is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Hawke's Bay, with tenders closing at 4pm on March 7.

Bayleys agents Tony Rasmussen and Simon Bousfield say the potential of receiving a six-figure contribution from the Government's tree fund will be attractive for many potential buyers.