Ngāi Tahu Farming Selected to Negotiate Lease of New Zealand’s Molesworth Station

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) has named Ngāi Tahu Farming, a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, as the preferred operator to negotiate a farming concession for Molesworth Recreation Reserve, the country’s largest farm covering about 180,800 ha. The current lease held by Pāmu Landcorp Farming ends in April 2026, and DOC will invite Ngāi Tahu Farming to apply for a formal concession that permits commercial farming on the conservation land.

DOC Deputy Director‑General Regional Operations Henry Weston said the decision was based on Ngāi Tahu Farming’s extensive experience managing high‑country stations—36,000 ha of the 100,000 ha of farming and forestry land it already oversees across the South Island—as well as its strong financial and business foundations, which provide long‑term security for the Crown. The concession will require the operator to meet DOC’s high expectations for public access, biodiversity protection, and weed and pest control across the nationally important dry‑lands ecosystem.