Canto Alegre History - Hastings - Hawkes Bay

Canto Alegre is located 5 km south of Hastings, Hawkes Bay , New Zealand. Our main commercial activity as at 2026 is breeding of purebred, registered Australian Lowline Cattle. 

We are also the base for the Hawkes Bay branch of the NZ Tree Crops Association and hold a yearly tree sale. More information on NZ Tree Crops can be found by clicking on the follwing link https://treecrops.org.nz/

History

The land is flat and fertile, on the famous Heretaunga Plain.The owners Anne Redgrave and Joao Dib try to practice organic farming and are members of the New Zealand Tree Crops Association. In 2010  we purchased the block as bare land. It was a barren rectangle with no hedges and no trees as you can see in the photos. The land had been  leased and until 2011 was used to grow conventional horticultural crops like carrots and onions. Heavy machinery and conventional inputs were the norm.

In 2011 we took back the land and a great challenge lay ahead: to grow trees, revitalize the soil, and bring back wildlife. The first step was to plant a solid willow hedge around the boundary. 1500 willow poles were planted to establish a boundary hedge and thiswill eventually be replaced with native trees and shrubs. New pastures, consisting of a mixed herbal/grass ley were sown. Cattle were brought in, fencing established and the soil began to recover from the heavy conventional use it had been under for a few years..

Significant changes have taken place over the last 5-6 years. The hedge is well established.  Walnuts, feijoas, heritage apples, hazelnuts, willows, escallonia and many  native trees have been planted. Over the next few years many other tree and shrub species will be planted. Wildlife is slowly but surely thriving.

Australian Lowline were introduced in 2018 and we are working to select for fast growth and good feet conformation!!

Please check our Enriching the Environment Page to see photos of plants, fuit trees and animals...

Our latest overhead video, filmed January 2019 can be view at