Aorangi Research Farm

Aorangi Research Farm is one of 11 farms owned or leased by AgResearch, and is located 15km west of Palmerston North on the old flood plain of the Oroua River at 312 Lockwood Road, Kairanga, as such, its parent campus is Grasslands.

The earliest date of land use for farming is not know, but certainly by 1927 there was an established farm and single story farmhouse.

In 1968, Aorangi was purchased for the Grasslands Division, DSIR, to conduct field research into pasture plants. In 1971 it comprised 80 hectares, and subsequent purchases in 1974 and 1989 increased this to 192 hectares, although the effective useable area was 178 hectares.

The farm lies in an area of flat country at an altitude of 15 metres above sea level, with an average rainfall of 860 mm.  The soils are formed from alluvium, deposited during flooding of the Oroua River, and range from freely to poorly draining gley.  The specific soil types consist of varying extents of loam, including: Rangitiki sandy loam, Manawatu mottled loam, Kairangi silt loam, Kairanga sandy loam, Kairanga fine sandy loam, Te Arakura sandy loam, and, Te Arakua fine sandy loam. 

Since research work began, the farm has also been referred to as the "Aorangi Experimental Farm", and, "Aorangi Lowland Research Station".