‘We haven’t come to terms with it yet’: Manager of country’s largest farm quits suddenly
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Jim Ward has quit as the manager of New Zealand’s largest farm, Molesworth Station, after 24 years.
Ward told Stuff on Tuesday he had resigned without notice and he and his wife were in the process of leaving the 180,000ha upper South Island property, which is leased by Pāmu (Landcorp Farming).
He said he couldn’t “elaborate too much” about his reasons for leaving, but expressed frustration with efforts to combat wilding pines.
The long-serving manager of the country’s biggest farm, Molesworth Station, has quit after 24 years.
Jim Ward confirmed to Stuff on Tuesday that he and his wife, Tracey, had resigned without notice and were in the process of leaving.
He didn’t want to go into the details of why they’d quit.
“I can’t really elaborate too much - it’s only just happened. We still haven’t come to terms with it ourselves yet,” he said.
Do you know more? Email tony.wall@stuff.co.nz
The 180,000ha Molesworth Station covers the high country between Hanmer Springs and Blenheim in the upper South Island.
New Zealand’s largest farm and home to about 6000 cattle, it is leased by Pāmu (Landcorp Farming) and managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on behalf of the Crown.
It’s publicly accessible land and various tourism operators do tours through its spectacular landscape.
Ward said his resignation came “24 years to the day” after he took up the post.
Pressed on whether he was frustrated at the way the government departments wanted to run the station, Ward said: “The public aren’t the issue, the public are really good.
“DOC - we’ve been a partner for them for a long time, that’s not really a problem.
“The problem is we can’t get any surety about what they want to do with the property.
“We’ve been trying to get more money for [eradicating] wilding pine trees which are a huge issue for us.
“We’ve had quite a lot of money from the Government but we can’t get any more.
“No-one’s got any money … I’m not bitching at the Government, it’s just a bastard that the pines are starting to take hold.”
He said wilding pines were the biggest threat to Molesworth’s future, and if they weren’t dealt with “probably within 20 years, 60% of it will be covered in trees”.
“We’ve been on to this [issue] for a while, but we should have been putting more into it.”
The future of Molesworth has been up in the air for the past decade. DOC sought public views on the future of the farm in 2018, an online survey finding most people wanted it kept as a working farm.
A management plan for the station, approved in 2013, proposed transitioning it from farming to include more recreation and conservation activities.
Ward told Stuff at the time the politics behind the station’s future “does my head in”.
But he saw the future of Molesworth to be primarily that of a farm as it was profitable and made best use of the landscape.
Will Burrett, Pāmu’s chief operating officer, said Ward’s long-standing contribution to the station and the wider farming community was “acknowledged with sincere thanks.
“We wish him and Tracey all the best for their next chapter.”
Pāmu said in a written statement that management changed across its 112 farms “from time to time” and it welcomed new leadership “as we continue to deliver operational excellence”.
Asked who would run Molesworth over the difficult winter months with Ward’s experience gone, the corporation said: “Pāmu is a large organisation with a skilled workforce that can flex to support change when required”.
During winter months, cattle were brought back to lower valleys, where they grazed sheltered areas.
Pāmu said it and DOC had made substantial efforts to tackle wilding pines on the station, “however, they continue to be a challenge to the future of farming, conservation and recreation on the reserve”.
The corporation was in ongoing discussions, led by DOC, over the future of Molesworth.
Martin Rodd, DOC’s northern South Island operations director, paid tribute to Ward’s work at the high country station.
“He always had the best interests of Molesworth at heart and was really passionate about ensuring it was well looked after.”
Rodd said the station was an area of national ecological significance, home to a range of threatened plants and animals – many of which were found nowhere else.
“Left unchecked, wilding conifers would threaten the Molesworth’s farming viability and damage the ecological and recreational values of the area,” he said.
Rodd said that since 2016, the Molesworth management unit, which included areas outside of the station, had received $18.4m for wilding conifer control across about 746,067ha.
This was a mix of funding from Ministry for Primary Industries, DOC, partners and the International Visitor Levy.
For the 2025/26 financial year, it was anticipated more than $1m would be spent.
“Since 2016, the Government has committed more than $150m to the fight to contain and control the spread of wilding pines across New Zealand, alongside more than $33m contributed by partners and communities,” Rodd added.