Kauri Forestry Limited Partnership has bought the Te Manuiri Station and Waipuna Station, which are relatively close to one another.
Kauri Forestry mainly represents a multi-generational family business from Switzerland and Germany.
Kauri Forestry has been set up under the Craigmore group, which provides governance and management services for investors.
Craigmore chief executive Che Charteris said on top of its two recent forestry investments in Hawke’s Bay, Kauri Forestry owns two apple orchards in Clive and Ongaonga, which it was upgrading.
Charteris said most of Te Manuiri Station was land use capability (LUC) class 6 and 7, which was steep land to farm.
The worst LUC rating is class 8.
“So we think forestry is the highest and best land use for that [property], and there was very little interest in it from non-forestry purposes from what we understand,” he said.
“The way we approach it is the right tree in the right place.”
He said they looked at the productivity of a farm when considering a forestry investment.
“If that farm is not an efficient farm, not a productive farm, and they tend not to be when they are land use class 7, such as due to big gorges in them, then converting those specific farms or part of those properties into radiata [pine] is not going to have a material effect on the community.”
He said, in his opinion, he did not believe there would be large land-use change in Central Hawke’s Bay moving forward, as there was only limited class 7 land. He said most of the region was flat land and better suited for farming.
Te Manuiri Station was owned by AJ and MA Smith Family Trust, who have sold it. That family has been approached for comment.
The OIO decision stated it was a sheep and cattle breeding farm.
About 525ha will be converted into a commercial forest (predominantly pinus radiata) with planting in winter 2025 and 2026.
Once matured, the trees will be harvested and replanted.
Meanwhile, the 480ha farm in Waipukurau has been sold by owners the Droxford Trust.
The 480ha was bought by Singapore-owned JD Droxford Ltd, ultimately owned by a Mr Jaleel.
It is the company’s first investment in NZ.
A section of productive land at the front of that Waipukurau farm has been retained, including for farming purposes, which has not been sold to the overseas buyer.
The seller declined to comment, and the buyer has been approached for comment.
Most of that land will be converted into a commercial forest (pinus radiata and redwood), with planting scheduled to start this winter.
The land consists mainly of LUC class 6 with some LUC class 3 land (62ha), and is currently used for sheep and beef grazing.
‘A sizeable chunk of land’
Hawke’s Bay Federated Farmers president Jim Galloway said the conversions would have an impact.
“It’s a massive concern because these aren’t the first ones, there have been thousands of hectares already gone into pine trees in CHB and that eastern Tararua region [such as] around Pongaroa.
“It is adding up to quite a sizeable chunk of land that is going out of production into trees.”
He said it did not just impact people living and working on a farm, but also impacted associated industries and even rural schools if families left.
He said an average-sized, single-family farm was about 300ha to 500ha, and when you approach 1000ha you can employ at least two families.
“Plus, you have all the other services like your shearers, your PGG Wrightsons and your Farmlands and the fertiliser companies and spreaders, and their jobs are going to stop on those properties [that have been converted].
“If you lose 1% or 2% a year [of clients] in a short time, it is going to have quite an effect on your business.”
He said Federated Farmers was pushing hard for the Government to protect the likes of class 3 land going to forestry (which is easy contour).
He said you don’t know people’s circumstances, and you can not criticise individuals for selling.
“People are always going to be selling for different reasons like age and stage, or moving up to a different property.”
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
