Colin and the team have run the numbers on Otapawa Station, looking at the farm across three lenses — nutrient performance, carbon opportunity, and environmental risk. Three decisions we'd like to discuss:
Fertiliser maintenance and production
Carbon reinvestment opportunities
Environmental risk assumptions and what they mean for the farm
Immediate farm opportunity
$35,753 per year
No capital required
View farm map
No investment required — yours regardless of what you decide below
Fertiliser
$30,653
Over-application saving · To maintenance · 979 ha
Saving — no fertiliser spend
+
Carbon registration
$5,100
Register 56 ha of existing native forest on the ETS
Existing ETS eligible forest
What else is included in this plan
All three investments are included in the plan above. Remove any to adjust the total.
Precision fertiliser: maintenanceFertiliser
+$71,559
Invest $27,679 · Lift the underperforming 762 ha
Precision fertiliser: Uplift from capital fertiliserFertiliser
+$29,008
Invest $33,084 · Precision spreading across 646 ha
Spaced Poplar planting: ETSCarbon
$18,000 / yr
net / yr
$18,000/yr for 30 years
Environmental risk
Assumptions & exclusions
69 hectares were set aside and not included in fertiliser recommendations. Some areas of this farm carry high erosion and runoff risk.
Land producing less than 4 tonnes of dry matter per hectare was flagged for a different land use.
Identified automatically using slope, pasture yield, and erosion risk data.
See D2 Block on map
2 areas flagged for your attention. D2 is the priority — highest environmental risk on the farm. Review on the map.
Flagged blocks
VELD pre-flagged · tap to review
Block D2Erosion risk
69 ha · 11 m/yr movement · $18,400 declining
Block B7Carbon eligible
22 ha · ETS native forest · unregistered
Block C3Erosion risk
18 ha · slope risk · below 4 t DM/ha
Other blocks — no flags
Block A1Clear
45 ha · 4.8 t DM/ha · performing
Block E4Clear
38 ha · optimal nutrient zone
HawkEye + CarbonCrop layers
Select a flagged block to review in detail
Block D2
69 ha · Erosion risk · Carbon opportunity
Fertiliser
Carbon
Environmental risk
Over-application saving
979 ha · no new spend required
$30,653 / yr
Immediate
Maintenance uplift · invest
762 ha under-applied · $27,679 capital
$71,559 / yr
Net return
Peak production · invest
646 ha · $33,084 capital · VRA precision
$29,008 / yr
Net return
Figures derived from data partner nutrient mapping at $93.91/ha net return rate. Source: EBIT capital uplift scenario · April 2026.
ETS eligible land — on farm
56 ha · existing native forest · unregistered
$5,100 / yr
Register today
Sequestration rate
67 tonnes CO₂ / yr
$52.87 / NZU
NZU price · April 2026
ETS eligibility status
Data partner confirmed
Confirmed
Native eligible
Land already on this farm producing carbon value — not yet registered. $5,100/yr at zero capital cost. Source: CarbonCrop Land Assessment, Veld Farms April 2026.
D2 — current pasture return
Declining year on year
$18,400 / yr
And falling
Pasture yield
Data partner · 3 seasons
3.2 t DM/ha
Below 4 t threshold
Soil movement
Data partner erosion layer
11 m / yr
High classification
Recommendation
Convert D2 to ETS native planting
$124,000 / yr peak · year 7 · erosion eliminated
Species to discuss: Mānuka, kānuka, harakeke. Mix determined by slope and soil profile. Data partner to confirm species plan and cost per hectare.