Ex-farm manager wanted NZ's largest farm Molesworth Station to become a not-for-profit

Government officials and farming leaders are mulling over if state-owned Molesworth Station could become a not-for-profit organisation.

The idea was put forward by Jim Ward, the farm's former manager of 24 years, before he resigned abruptly in July.

Crown-owned Rangitahi/Molesworth Recreation Reserve lies between Hanmer Springs and Blenheim in Marlborough and is the largest farm in Aotearoa, with a herd of around 6000 Hereford and Angus cattle.

The 180,000-hectare high country station leased to Pāmu Farms of New Zealand, formerly Landcorp, was administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) over the past 20 years.

But the lease, set to run out mid-2026, was expected to go out to market, as DOC worked out the scope of what its future might hold.

Emails between Pāmu and DOC released under the Official Information Act, originally to Stuff, showed Ward proposed turning the station into a "truly public-owned asset" for Aotearoa, in the months before his resignation.

"The potential to make the station into a truly public asset is huge. Ownership of all assets and the farming operation would rest with the team of Five Million," he said in an email.

Ward put forward a detailed plan for "Molesworth Station Limited", as New Zealand's "only not-for-profit farming operation."

He said the need to rush through a management plan to enable a lease to be formulated would be negated in this scenario.

"As cash-strapped [as] DOC are, this would maintain the publicly owned land and its assets, ie buildings and roading, at no cost to the department."

He said the operation would self-fund all normal farming expenses plus maintain all the current assets to how they are now, and no longer be charged rent or rates.

"Increase the profile and mana of the Steering Committee to a governance role which would include oversight of the farming operation financials plus a management profile of operations such as the Wilding Pine efforts (another net saving)."

Ward said he had Pāmu "in his corner" on the issue, which had generated some discussion "in the Molesworth world".

"It has taken me some time to find the right pathway to forward this concept, but I believe I have [redacted] in my corner plus the Pāmu team," he said.

"It would be fair to say that we have captured the interest of the steering committee, but some in DOC and iwi see it as a watering down of their aspirations for control.

"Not going to die wondering on this."

His suggested actions included retiring some grazing areas, giving the entire farming operation heritage status as an iconic site, and channelling all surplus income into weed control.

A Pāmu spokesperson said it had worked in partnership with DOC over the past two decades to manage the farming operations, while respecting its biodiversity, cultural significance and recreational value.

"Pāmu has welcomed the step towards certainty with the Department of Conservation announcing it will be seeking expressions of interest in the Molesworth Station lease, which is due to expire on 30 June 2026.

"As we await further detail on the scope of the opportunity, Pāmu remains fully committed to the stewardship and sustainable farming of Molesworth."

The state-owned enterprise appointed former station leader Gene Thomas as farm manager through to June next year. However any decisions around its future management sat with DOC.

Its south Marlborough operations manager, Stacey Wrenn, said it explored the not-for-profit idea among other future options, but scoping works earlier this year found more information would be required.

"We did some scoping work around Ward's idea earlier in the year, looking at whether a board or trust could be set up to assume day-to-day management of the farming operations.

"This found further work would be needed to understand whether it could be financially sustainable and clarify how asset ownership and administrative responsibilities would work.

"DOC is not progressing Ward's proposal at this stage as we are putting our efforts into the competitive allocation process."

Wrenn said farming will be involved at the site in future, as well as other possible activities like guiding or farm accommodation.

"DOC is currently defining the scope of the opportunity to be offered in the next concession - which will involve farming but may include other opportunities like guiding or accommodation alongside it.

"This will be put in place under the existing governance and management structure."

Cultural significance

Amid speculation, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu chief executive Ben Bateman confirmed no decisions had yet been made.

"No decisions have been made as to whether we will participate in the future Expressions of Interest process."

But he said the area - also known as Rangitahi - was of immense cultural, spiritual, and historical significance for both Ngāti Kurī and Ngāi Tahu.

"It has long served as a tūrangawaewae, connecting us to our whakapapa and traditions through the occupations of Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kurī, and Ngāi Tahu.

"The protection and restoration of Rangitahi as an ancestral landscape is paramount to their identity and wellbeing."

Minister for Conservation Tama Potaka said DOC was running an independent competitive allocation process to give all interested parties equal opportunity.

"This will enable them to select an applicant who is best suited to protect and enhance the conservation values at the site.

"It would be preemptive to weigh in on any ideas or proposals at this stage," he said.

Wrenn said it will be calling for interest later this year, once it has a defined scope of the opportunity.

"We will be calling interest later this year, and intend to have a concession in place before the current farming lease expires in June next year, to allow time for a transition if required."

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