To many outsiders, the popular farming image of Taranaki is that of dairying, and indeed this would be so if the Taranaki land area was restricted to the ring plain surrounding Mt Egmont. However much of inland Taranaki comprises steep hill country, located in the eastern parts of the Clifton, Inglewood, Stratford, Eltham, Hawera (District Council) and Patea Counties.
The Whangamomona Riding of the Stratford County covers almost 110,000 hectares. This represents approximately half of the county area, and nearly 14% of the Taranaki province. The project was designed to gather up-to-date information of farming and social trends and attitudes in this isolated hill country district. In several aspects, the farming and social trends highlighted will reflect those in similar hill country areas of New Zealand.
The conclusions and recommendations based on the findings are put forward to help assess and formulate the place in New Zealand’s economy and society of such areas as the Whangamomona Riding.
