In the rural North Otago hinterland of Five Forks, the landscape is predominantly the domain of dairy cattle and sheep and beef.
But on a 0.5ha patch of land up a quiet country road, there is excitement brewing as the soil is prepared for planting with some very special seedlings.
Dairy farmers Hayden and Robyn Williams are awaiting the arrival of a variety of plants suited for the natural health product market, including liquorice and peppermint.
They are part of Waitaki Grown, an initiative which has resulted in a group of Waitaki farmers partnering with the Waitaki District Council economic development team to conduct a medicinal crop trial this spring.
Trial plots will be planted throughout the district of five different medicinal crops which research has indicated should grow well in Waitaki’s topoclimate — medical cannabis is not on the list — to see if land diversification could support and sustainably grow the district’s primary sector.
The group of hand-picked farmers have been working together for more than a year with facilitation and support provided through the government’s Better Off fund.
Those chosen are progressive operators who have either looked at diversification or are interested in it.
Mr and Mrs Williams have been in the dairy industry for more than two decades, progressing to full farm ownership.
They also lease a property at Herbert which will also have a trial plot of medicinal plants.
Mr Williams said he had investigated establishing a blueberry orchard at Five Forks, inspired by those in the North Island who had kiwifruit orchards on dairy farms.
Both were successful industries and complemented each other, he said.
He got inspiration from a variety of "awesome" people and bumped into a wine industry leader while on holiday whose advice was "be all in" rather than starting on a small-scale.
But that — along with an interest in figs — had been put on the back-burner when Waitaki Grown was established.
The group first met in September 2023 and explored a variety of diversification options during the discovery phase of the project.
The group spoke to various academic institutes and connected with other economic development agencies, spoke to other government agencies, Plant & Food Research and other farmers before settling on medicinal crops as a good fit.
Waitaki District Council business and enterprise growth lead Rebecca Finlay said medicinal crops had the potential to be high-value ingredients or processed into a finished product as part of the wellness market, which was an emerging and rapidly growing prospect for New Zealand both domestically and globally.
Mr Williams said the more he talked to successful people, the more he discovered how diversification done well could add real value to a business and that was something to increasingly think about as markets became more volatile.
North Otago was able to grow so many different types of produce while, on the Williams family’s own property, there was a "bit of a microclimate".
The large investment in irrigation in the district was also fortunate as many countries did not have that infrastructure to get produce to plate, he said.
Ms Finlay said New Zealand rated highly as a country on the list of most trusted brands in the world and medicinal crops — aimed at addressing a variety of health and wellbeing issues — were a "perfect mix".
The group has been working with Phil Rasmussen, an experienced medical herbalist who, before pursuing herbal medicine, worked for more than 10 years as a pharmacist and undertook research on anti-depressant drugs and serotonin for a master’s degree in pharmacology.
It had also been expanded to include input from rural professionals, including local agronomist Sam Sturgess.
In collaboration, they had an "amazing range of heads around the table", including the farmers who completely knew their land.
They were also figuring out the new journey — "because we’re really building the plane as we go" — and the intention was for them to hold on to parts of the value chain, Ms Finlay said.
It was not about "lock stock" land use change, she said, and Mr Williams said financial return was a big part of the discussion as it was not a hobby.
Both the farmers and the council saw an opportunity not only to grow but produce and manufacture locally, creating new jobs.
The council had begun working with local producers and manufacturers to explore what capability was already in the district while building networks with potential international markets.
Mr Williams said he was excited about the project and the herbal element particularly resonated with him.
Looking at the history of the human race, chemical drugs had been around for the "blink of your eye" compared to natural medicine.
But putting the plants in the ground was the "easy bit", he acknowledged.
Some would take two to three years to fully mature with testing along the way to make sure they were on the right path.
The seedlings were provided by a propagator in Christchurch and from local business Statement Trees.
They did not require much water, fertiliser or spray.
"What I like is it’s real now. The conversation is over — we’ve evolved into the action," he said.
