Property details

Horticulture

Wiroa Orchard

Business Manager, Kiwifruit: Alan Dobbie
Located at 370 Wiroa Road, Kerikeri

Converted in 2019 from a dairy farm, which milked 270 cows, Wiroa was Craigmore’s first large-scale kiwifruit development. Now considered one of the largest orchards in the country, it reached full planting in 2024 with 82-hectares of kiwifruit, despite suffering damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.

A large focus has been returning biodiversity to the site. A native planting programme has restored 30-hectares of native vegetation along slopes, gullies and banks close to waterways. Starting with 4-hectares of remnant bush, we planted 17-hectares with 43,000 natives in 27 species and four forest types including a mix of native species such as kahikatea, kauri and tōtara. The following year, a further 8-hectares was converted.

Innovation is also a core priority. In 2024, we trialed alternatives to the chemical Hi Cane, using Syncron® and Siberio on small patches at Wiroa with exceptional results.

Dairy Initiatives

The Craigmore Farming team has a number of trials underway, demonstrating our commitment to innovation and willingness to take a leadership position with adoption of leading-edge technology. Becoming industry leaders in environmental solutions and animal welfare is a priority for our farming teams, investors and consumers, and we are building solutions into our businesses.

Protecting and enhancing waterways through riparian planting is key to improving biodiversity on our farms. A new initiative with in partnership with Amuri Irrigation Company on two farms in Culverden illustrates this commitment. Learn more here.

In addition, a range of trials continue across Craigmore farms:

• SmaXtec: a 10cm internal measuring device administered orally to better understand cows and improve health and welfare. The sensor transmits measurements from inside the cow every ten minutes, which can be viewed on a computer or smartphone.
• Herd-i: (formerly OmniEye) is a system which records information captured by a camera positioned on the exit race to the milking shed, analysing and charting the locomotion of each cow to monitor herd health. Lameness is a significant threat to the health of a cow and preventing it means that the animal remains well and a productive member of the milking system. Locomotion scores will help inform on-farm decisions.
• Halter: the wearable device, in its first season at Glen Eyre following four seasons at Riverend, enhances labour flexibility, optimises pasture management and improves animal health and performance by enabling farmers to remotely move virtual fences and monitor animal health. The smart collars sends information to an app providing detail on animal behaviour while the virtual fencing function allows the team to remotely move the herd.
• Flow: is a camera-based AI solution for a backing gate which responds to herd movement in real time. This technology automatically manages the backing gate movements using live imaging to optimise cow flow into the dairy shed
• EcoPond: an effluent treatment system targets methane with an additive normally used in the treatment of drinking water. EcoPond can reduce methane emissions from dairy effluent pond by over 90%, with significant reduction in phosphate leaching, E.coli, odour, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide gas loss.
• Compost fertiliser: a compost made up of wood chips, offal stomach content and sheep skins are being trailed as an alternative to convention fertiliser. Cheaper, with no waste, the product is full of organic matter and high in nitrogen with slow-release benefits, meaning only 10-30% of nutrients in the compost is available for grass uptake in the first year of application, reducing leaching and nutrient loss.
• Ruminant BioTech: is developing a world leading technology for reducing methane emissions from livestock on pastoral farms. The key patent-protected technology is a small capsule (‘bolus’), which sits in a cow’s stomach, releasing a controlled dose of a methane inhibiting substance for up to six months. The technology uses a highly pure form of synthetic  tribromomethane, a compound found in red algae seaweed.
• Kowbucha: Since 2022, the Craigmore has been working with Fonterra trialling a probiotic solution called Kowbucha on our dairy farms at Te Awa, Darnley and Glen Eyre. Kowbucha is added to colostrum, milk or calf milk replacer from birth until weaning to influence the gut and immune system of the cow from an early age. It has been shown to reduce feed intake and methane emissions by up to 20% in dairy heifers up to one year of age, without reducing calf liveweight gain or health parameters. Learn more about Kowbucha here.