As Canterbury's only commercial hop grower, we offer brewers a unique, local, single-source supply of both hops and malting barley
Okuora Farms
In beautiful coastal North Canterbury
Our 700 ha farm on the the banks of the Hurunui River, North Canterbury sits in a mild coastal climate with deep fertile soils. We are just 1.5 hours north of Christchurch and right by the beach village of Gore Bay.
We started out sheep and beef farming in 2020, but with our rich fertile soils and gentle coastal climate, knew that we had the opportunity for more. We planted trial blocks of hops and apples and added barley into our cropping programme.
We are now the only commercial grower of hops in Canterbury and also grow malting barley – a truly local, single source opportunity for brewers.
We’re passionate about future opportunities for Canterbury, to see our environment flourish and for our community to thrive.
Listen to our story on Country Life here
Our story
A great team
John and Maury bought the farm in 2020 and have a great team onboard.
Peter Roberts is our General Manager and spans across all the farm operations from the farming and cropping to the hops and apples (we even have some cherries).
Jordan Black knows the farm inside out and makes sure everything is operating like it should.
Paige McNabb looks after all our stock with her team of loyal dogs.
Darren Jones is normally found in a tractor keeping everything growing.
In the press
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"Hops have traditionally been grown in the top of the south - but some forward-thinking farmers have discovered one of beer’s main ingredients can now be harvested in Canterbury too... 'The yield is as good, or better than, Nelson.'"
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"Farm diversification based on climate change research was on their minds from the get go. They planted North Canterbury's first commercial hop garden on seven hectares near the Hurunui River and a pip fruit orchard with 20 varieties of apples, pears and cherries."
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"Business leader Maury Leyland Penno said she was optimistic New Zealand agriculture could make the change to be more sustainable. 'We are resilient optimists, so yes, I absolutely believe it. This is a beautiful country and we all love it.'"
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"Niwa suggested the climate in North Canterbury was very similar to that of Motueka in the 1970s, as climate change prompted warmer days... 'Essentially crops that could be grown in Motueka in the 1970s, there’s no reason why they can’t be grown in North Canterbury today.'"
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"Throughout an absorbing career Maury Leyland has been associated with transformation. She has never shied away from new challenges and is now determined to be in the forefront of transforming the primary sector. "
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"Creating craft beer made from entirely Canterbury ingredients was a huge plus, Cassels executive brewer Simon Bretherton said. The four main ingredients in Cassels beer are water, malt, hops and yeast – all of which are now from Canterbury. 'It’s quite unique.'"
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"Maury Leyland and her husband John Penno bought Okuora Farms in 2020 and almost immediately diversified into hops... And I think they’ve got something good going here, adding to the hop-growing regions outside of Nelson-Tasman and bringing us different expressions of hops we know and love."
Farming that works for people and planet
We keep the safety of our product, our people and our environment at the forefront. That’s why we are fully ‘New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice’ (NZGAP) certified.
