Donald's Farm NZYF

14/11/2024

Donald’s Farm Celebrates the FMG Young Farmer of the Year 2024 Northern Region!

We’re thrilled to announce that the top 8 contestants in the FMG Young Farmer of the Year 2024 Northern Region have been selected to compete in the upcoming regional final! These outstanding individuals have demonstrated their exceptional knowledge and skills by completing a range of modules that tested their practical and theoretical expertise in agriculture *during the district final hosted at the farm over the weekend.*

The modules included areas such as farm management, sustainability, business planning, and problem-solving, ensuring that these contestants are well-equipped to lead the future of farming in New Zealand.

National Sponsors:
FMG, Ravensdown, Lincoln University College, Massey University, Ministry for Primary Industries, Milwaukee Tools NZ, New Holland Agriculture, Woolworths New Zealand, PTS Logistics, Honda and Bushbuck.

Local Sponsors:
Roger Gill Agriculture, PGG Wrightson Livestock, Federated Farmers (Auckland Province), Pioneer Brand Products NZ, Rabobank New Zealand, Brookdale, Eady Fencing, Franklin Vets Pets, and Greenlea Butcher Shop.

A big thank you to all the sponsors for their continued support in nurturing the future of farming. We’re excited for the journey ahead and proud to be part of such an important event in New Zealand’s agricultural community.

Stay tuned for more updates as the competition progresses!

13/11/2024

🌾 This year, our Introduction to the Primary Sector programme welcomed 25 students from James Cook High School to Donald's Farm! For one day, each week over three terms, these students experienced farm life firsthand learning about cows, calving, crops, soils, milking, and much more.

We also had amazing support from experts at Barenbrug NZ, NZAgbiz, Milk Bar, CropX, FIL , and our vets and AB technicians, who shared insights on careers in the industry. A highlight was visiting Gallagher Animal Management headquarters to see the tech behind farming.

Thanks to everyone involved for helping inspire the next generation! 🌱🐄💪

11/11/2024

🌱 Growing times on Donald’s Farm! Our Barenbrug chicory has started to germinate, and it’s pretty exciting . We are just hoping for a little more rain to give it that extra push and help it thrive 🌧️

07/11/2024

It was fantastic to connect with others involved in the Papakura Stream Restoration Project!

Together, we are making a meaningful impact on our community and working towards a healthier, thriving environment.

Here's to the power of teamwork and positive change!

Building community connections. Last week we celebrated the end of another mammoth planting season on the Papakura Stream Restoration Project with a stakeholder BBQ. This gave our project landowners, funders, supporters and staff a chance to come together and get to know the scale of the work being done and to realise that they are part of something huge. This project is restoring stream sides and wetlands on 11 different sites from Whitford to Manurewa, growing a green belt across South Auckland. Working on both private and public land, we have planted 127,000 native plants, removed 2.5 tonnes of rubbish and controlled more than 4.5 hectares of weeds. All this with the help of more than 3,000 volunteers. It truly is a collaborative effort.

Thanks to the support of our partners at Foundation North, Beijer Ref, Mondelēz International, Citycare Water, Auckland Council. We couldn't do it without you.

To find out more about this project, visit our website: https://conservationvolunteers.co.nz/portfolio/papakura-stream-restoration/

07/11/2024

If you are available and around the Oakley Creek area on Friday morning get involved 👍👍

04/11/2024

Watching the future unfold! At Donald’s Farm, young minds are discovering the world of farming firsthand.

From seeing the Fonterra truck roll away to learning about where their milk comes from, these budding farmers are getting a taste of the hard work, passion, and dedication that goes into every drop.
Here’s to inspiring the next generation of farmers!

01/11/2024

We are thrilled to announce that we’ll be hosting the Young Farmer of the Year District Final for the Northern Region on November 9th, right here on the farm!

Any northern young farmers members who want to compete need to enter by this Sunday night!!
This event is a great chance to support our young farmers and see some amazing talent in action!

Take a look at this link for more information:
https://www.youngfarmers.co.nz/regional-finals/northern

29/10/2024

We received this lovely review from a family who attended our Open Farms event earlier this year!

We are so glad we could be part of this nationwide program, connecting our community to farm life. Thanks to everyone who joined us and this amazing family for their kind words! We are looking forward to the next one! 🐄🌱

24/10/2024

🌱 We’ve kicked off our summer crop program, planting 12 ha of chicory! But before we can get those seeds in the ground, the first step is a really good spray-out of the old pasture. A huge thanks to Nufarm New Zealand💚 their crucial product does an outstanding job, helping us prepare the perfect base.

We’re grateful to have Nufarm New Zealand as a sponsor supporting our work here at Donald's Farm! 🙌 Stay tuned for updates as our summer crops start to flourish!

22/10/2024

We’re excited to share that Conservation Volunteers Auckland has planted 23,000 native trees on our farm over the past two winters as part of the Papakura Stream Restoration Project!

This initiative not only enhances our landscape but also supports local biodiversity.

Check out the video to see the progress!

The Papakura Stream Restoration Project, run by Conservation Volunteers New Zealand, aims to improve the health of the Papakura Stream and the wider catchme...

21/10/2024

Students from James Cook High School have taken an apiculture course run by Pacific Coast Technical Institute throughout the year on our farm!

We now have 20 active bee hives 🐝 being managed by the students. Their hard work supports education and benefits our local ecosystem.

15/10/2024

Photo of the week 💯 One of the adorable additions — a stunning calf that’s sure to brighten your day!

If you think this cutie deserves some love, give this post a 👍❤️
Let’s spread the joy!

14/10/2024

🌟 Exciting times ahead! We're thrilled to showcase some of the latest innovative technologies that Gallagher Animal Management has installed and has available.

Stay tuned as we’ll be diving deeper into each product throughout the year, sharing insights and updates as we start using them.
Can't wait to share more!

10/10/2024

We were honoured to host Gallagher Animal Management as part of the NZ sales conference recently!

It was great to see their team in action as they installed some of their innovative equipment on-site. Exciting advancements for our farm!

08/10/2024