The New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards programme began in 2006 to preserve important rural history of farming families who have owned and worked their land for 100 years or more.
Terry and Heidi McHaffie applied to Century Farms with plenty of photographs and documents to tell the story of their family’s farm history that began with Hugh Ninian McHaffie’s return after World War 1.
Hugh and his brothers took advantage of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Scheme and were allocated untamed land in Popotunoa country, between Waipahi and Clydevale, in 1920.
The brothers developed their three properties in co-operation for many years in the tough climate where tussock prevailed and pasture was difficult to establish.
They struggled with weak soil, rabbits, couch grass and biddy-bids, but in his first year Hugh had put up 150 chains of fences and had 40ha under the plough thanks to a team of six horses.
His main interest was Romney sheep and in the early days he achieved only 60% lambing.
He lived in a tent for many years then a single-man’s hut but built a more hospitable dwelling in 1929 in time to face the Great Depression.
A fact missed by people in modern times was the amount of land farmers needed to enclose and grow feed for their working and household supply animals, along with growing their own vegetables.
"It wasn’t until he invested in a D2 bulldozer he was really able to break out," Terry McHaffie said.
By 1944 Hugh felt his farm was established, he married Evelyn and raised five children.
His eldest sons, Peter and Barrie, were running the property by 1970, then Barrie and Helen’s son Terry bought it in 2008.
Over the generations the family tree has branched out to property nearby — and further afield.
The family stay in close contact and support each other.
"About 20" of the McHaffie family attended the 2024 Century Farms awards dinner at Simpson Park in Lawrence last Saturday.
"We have three keen boys and a daughter who thinks she might want to be a farmer, and so does Leigh," Heidi McHaffie said.
"But they’re going to have to make money elsewhere before they could take over.
"There’s a lot of debt to service and a massive amount of regulation to be researched and paid for.
"And what wealth you have is in the land, not the bank, so you can see why people want to give up and cash out with a good bit of money.
"It’s a real commitment to stay farming and a big commitment to stay on keeping it in the family, so it’s that generational pull to stay on the land and keep it going for the next generation that keeps you going."
