Our community gets quality veggies for a lower cost when they do the picking. Twenty bucks, fill a crate, take it home.

48 families came along, half of them new. Seventeen came back again. We're growing PYO into a full season, October 2026 to April 2027.

Growing intensively puts pressure on soil, so half the job is making sure the ground improves rather than depletes.

We feed the biology, not the plant: compost extracts, microbial drenches, cover crops, mulch, minimal disturbance. Organic certification begins with our microgreens in FY27. The paperwork is catching up with the practice.

528 sheep and 333 cattle across 576 hectares of pasture and grazed hill country, born here and living their whole lives on pasture that grows without irrigation or imported feed. No routine or prophylactic antibiotics, and no GMOs or synthetic hormones.

The year's big shift happened in the paddocks: the herd moved from sheep-dominant to almost double the cattle. That shift is what makes virtual fencing work: Halter's collars guide 220 of the cattle by GPS, up from 100 last year, moving stock off wet ground and out of waterways without a physical fence. This allows us to prioritise soil and animal health while maintaining labour efficiency.

Five 100-metre rows of trees, continually testing what grows best in this valley and its changing climate. The first fruits have arrived, and this area has the highest worm count in the valley. Brought to life with gifted plants and volunteer labour.

Across the year we weighed every bit of kai that left the shop as a gift rather than a sale, 263.21 kg in all. Ōrongomai Marae took our greens almost every week of the high season, and returned it by sharing hāngī with our visitors at Harvest Festival. Another 35 kg of venison from our own hunting control went to the Upper Hutt Foodbank.

Over half our suppliers come from the Wellington region, making the Farm Shop / Kete Kai a key point in the local food network. The problem is accessibility for our own produce and meat. Closing the gap between quality and affordability is our core focus for FY27.

Jason and Sarah's hens are up Blue Mountains Road. Their business No Boundaries eggs was our biggest external vendor of the year. Nine of our 101 suppliers come from Mangaroa and Whitemans Valley, a number we'd love to grow.

We've got honest neighbours. The fridge runs on an unstaffed honesty system, holding eggs and veges. People get what they need, leaving cash or making a bank transfer.

Between Earth School Aotearoa and the schools who visit us, 130 learners spent more than four hours on the farm this year, 15 spent more than fifty hours, and 9 learners spent over two hundred hours.

Forty-one hands-on sessions, from earth building to home herbalism, averaging about thirteen people each. Nearly two thirds ran free or sponsored, and four in five were built for schools and community groups rather than general ticket sales. We hosted three professional learning days for teachers on top of that.

Four under-17s worked alongside our farm manager this year: stock work, grazing, animal health, and jobs they had to finish alone.

One has gone on to a farming cadetship, another's building hours for Growing Future Farmers. Farming starts to look like a career worth having, especially for the young women.

40 learners from fourteen countries lived and worked with us in full immersion, discovering and practising earth-based skills across restoration and food production. They flex our capacity for education: tactile, experiential, a living classroom. 68 volunteers came for planting days, and 5 households joined the Potato Growers Co-op.

Events are how people find this place. A lot of people just come once. Some come back every month. From farm to table dinners to breathwork journeys, technology gatherings and farm tours, these facilities have heard many different kōrero.

BROS Aotearoa held their first two Masculine Vitality Experiences here, 35 men each, for challenge, connection and nourishment. Men left more connected, to themselves and each other. Mangaroa Farms provided the land and the kai.

Our biggest days of the year come in November and March, when we open the gates for a day of farm charm. Up to 1,500 people gathered here each time for garden tours, Mangaroa kai, market stalls, live music, kids activities and more.

This year we hosted our first Earth Fellows cohort, with 10 leaders in food, farming, housing and landcare across Aotearoa. This work strengthens the relational bonds of Aotearoa's regenerative movement: leaders sharing what works, building together, and yes, finding a rare chance to rest along the way. The fellowship has already given rise to further collaboration with Mangaroa Farms.

Eleven households live in Mangaroa Farms housing: six homes provided to staff and contractors, and five rented to the local community, keeping the people who work this land, and the neighbours who love it, close to it.

NZ Garden Trust is a nationwide network of quality-assessed gardens of significance throughout the country. Our flagship event space received a 4 star rating for the blend of native and exotic species, as well as a focus on biodiversity and long-term resilience.