On the Coast: Standing together in Wharekahika and Te Araroa

Over recent days, our Tairāwhiti Whenua team has spent time on the Coast, working across Wharekahika and Te Araroa alongside whānau, farmers and partner organisations as recovery efforts continue to take shape. What has been evident throughout is that the support reaching our communities is not incidental. It is the direct result of an enduring and deeply trusted partnership between Tairāwhiti Whenua and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, a relationship that continues to enable coordinated, practical and timely responses when they are needed most.

This partnership has been built over time, through shared experiences, mutual respect and a clear alignment in values. It reflects a commitment not just to respond in times of need, but to stand alongside our farming communities for the long term. Because of this, when challenges arise, we are not starting from scratch. We are activating an existing system of trust, relationships and capability that allows us to move with pace, clarity and purpose.

In Te Araroa, this was reflected in a community hui that brought together whānau, local leaders and agencies to ensure people could access the right information, support and connections. The hui itself was grounded in aroha and tautoko, creating a space where people felt heard, supported and able to engage directly with those there to assist.

These moments are important. They represent more than coordination, they reflect a system that is responsive to community voice. Through our partnership with Beef + Lamb New Zealand, we are able to support and strengthen these spaces, ensuring that information flows, needs are understood, and responses are aligned and effective.

Alongside this, we spent time with local farmers collecting fencing posts to support repairs across their whenua. While practical in nature, this work speaks to something deeper. It is about restoring confidence, rebuilding infrastructure, and enabling farmers to regain stability and forward momentum following disruption.

The ability to mobilise and distribute these resources at scale is a direct outcome of strong partnership. Through the alignment between Tairāwhiti Whenua and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, supported by contributions from across our wider network, we are able to ensure that resources are not only secured, but reach the right people, at the right time, and in a way that upholds mana.

This has been equally evident in the delivery of stock feed into the Cape.

Working alongside our Farmlands partners from Ōpōtiki, Whakatāne and Rotorua, and enabled through our partnership with Beef + Lamb New Zealand, multiple truckloads of feed have been transported and distributed to farmers across the region. This level of coordination is significant. It requires alignment across regions, the ability to source and mobilise resource quickly, and the strength of relationships to ensure delivery is seamless.

For farmers, the impact is immediate and meaningful. Feed shortages place considerable pressure on stock, operations and decision-making. The ability to relieve that pressure provides space, stability and the confidence to continue forward, not just day to day, but with a clearer pathway ahead.

What has been clear throughout this work is that no single organisation could achieve this alone. It is the strength, depth and maturity of partnership, particularly the enduring relationship between Tairāwhiti Whenua and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, that makes this level of response possible.

This is what collective impact looks like in practice. Not as a concept, but as coordinated, values-driven action, enabled by relationships that have been intentionally built and consistently invested in over time.

As Tairāwhiti Whenua, our role is to continue to nurture and enable these relationships, ensuring that the systems supporting our farmers and communities remain connected, responsive and resilient into the future.

There is still work ahead. Recovery is ongoing, and the needs of our communities will continue to evolve. However, what we are seeing across Wharekahika and Te Araroa reinforces a simple but powerful truth, when strong partnerships are in place, our region is better equipped to respond, recover and move forward together.

We extend our sincere thanks to Beef + Lamb New Zealand for their ongoing commitment to Tairāwhiti, and to all those who have contributed their time, resources and capacity to support this work. It is this collective effort, grounded in partnership, that continues to make a tangible and lasting difference for our whānau, our farmers and our whenua.