About Us

Our Philosophy and Purpose

Nearly 5 decades of  leadership and involvement in organic research, advocacy, farming  and commerce has convinced us that certified Organic and Regenerative organic agriculture are essential keys to reversing the damage humanity has inflicted on our planet’s air, water, soils and biodiversity.  Specifically, we believe:

  • There is no path to true sustainability without employing Organic practices, and that so-called “regenerative” agriculture is impossible unless toxic chemicals are prohibited, as required by certified organic standards.
  • Organic and Regenerative Organic Agriculture can enable authentic win-win-win-win-win commerce benefiting Soil Health; Biodiversity and Animal Health; Healthy Water Systems free of toxins and eutrophic inputs such as nitrogen; Clean Air; Human Health and preventative health care; farmer pay price and income (particularly for smaller, family farmers); Rural Economic Development; and Better Than Market Economic Returns for Producers, Retailers and Wholesalers.
  • Perhaps most importantly, widespread expansion of Organic and Regenerative Organic production is essential if we are to slow and reverse climate change by significantly reducing nitrogen oxide through elimination of synthetic chemical fertilisers and by vastly improved soil carbon sequestration.
  • The key to expanding certified organic and regenerative organic agriculture is to expedite the rapid expansion of local, regional, national and global Organic commerce and trade.

That is why we are laser focused on supporting and encouraging Organic Entrepreneurship, investment and trade.  And our forty years of helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives succeed in Organic commerce has convinced us that the best way to help build stronger enterprises is through sharing actual “in the trenches” experience and working models.  That is what we hope to encourage at our Centre.

We welcome one and all to join us.

Our Mission

Our mission is to help current and aspiring organic farmers and entrepreneurs successfully launch, grow and sustain profitable enterprises, whether on a commercial or backyard scale. Using the principles and practices of the Hirshberg Entrepreneurship Institute where we focus on bringing together seasoned farmers, business leaders, customers, suppliers, investors, lenders and experts in all of the key components of a successful enterprise, we hope to help advance organic entrepreneur and farmer skills, experience and knowledge.

About HEI Organic Education Centre

Gary and Meg Hirshberg have been Organic advocates since the late 1970’s.  Meg (full bio below) received her Masters from Cornell University in the US in integrated pest management and then ran an organic farm in New Jersey before joining Gary in New Hampshire in the early 1980s’. Currently she is President and Co-Founder of the Anticancer Lifestyle Program (www.anticancerlifestyle.org) which focuses on strategies for helping people reduce their risk of cancer and cancer recurrence, including choosing organic products wherever possible.

Gary (full bio below) studied Climate Change in college before serving as Executive Director of a leading US organic research and education institute in the late 1970’s. He then became Co-Founder and 30-year CEO of Stonyfield Farm, Inc., now the world’s largest organic yogurt brand where he is currently a Senior Advisor and Chief Organic Optimist. He is a Director, advisor and investor in numerous organic businesses, and chairs two US charitable organizations dedicated to supporting organic farmers and consumer education. And for over 25 years, he has led the Hirshberg Entrepreneurship Institute (HEI) which supports organic and mission driven companies and entrepreneurs, including 6 annual institutes in NZ.

In 2014, Gary and Meg purchased and combined three adjacent properties totaling 75 hectares in Ngātīmoti with the goal of creating an organic entrepreneurship centre.  While completing the three-year BioGro organic certification process, they set out to replace non-native trees with tens of thousands of native species, establish fencing, dams, waterways, irrigation, a classroom and Woofer quarters, and other farm infrastructure and to begin to work with local organic growers and entrepreneurs to create working demonstrations of successful organic enterprises.

More about Gary

Gary Hirshberg is CEO of the Hirshberg Entrepreneurship Institute and Co-Founder and Chief Organic Optimist of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer.  He is also Founder and Chair of two non-profit advocacy organizations: Organic Voices and the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership.

The author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion, 2008), Gary frequently speaks on topics including sustainability, organic agriculture and the profitability of green business.  Gary has previously served on the Boards of many organic and natural brands including Annie’s, Applegate, Blue Apron, Forager Project, Glenisk Organic Dairy (Ireland), Honest Tea, King Arthur Flour, Late July, Orgain, Peak Organic Brewing, Sambazon, Sweet Earth Foods, Sweetgreen and UnReal chocolates and currently serves on several corporate boards including My Forest Foods (plant-based bacon), Tacombi (Mexican taquerias and products), Uncle Matt’s Organic (organic juices and beverages), Wildgood (plant-based ice cream) and Willa’s (organic oat beverages).

He also advises many young and emerging entrepreneurs in a wide variety of fields and is currently supporting the CEO’s of numerous organic enterprises and is also an investor in over 20 natural products firms and funds.

He has received 12 honorary doctorates and numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership including a 2015 Champion for Children Award from New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital’s Children’s Environmental Health Center, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Fast Company Magazine named him one of the top ten, “most inspiring people in sustainable food”. He is an Edmund Hillary Fellow in NZ.

About Meg

Meg Cadoux Hirshberg is founder of The Anticancer Lifestyle Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to promoting evidence-based lifestyle transformation for cancer survivors (www.anticancerlifestyle.org). For 15 years Meg was a freelance non-fiction writer, whose work appeared in Yankee, New Hampshire magazine, and the Boston Globe magazine, among other publications. In 2009, she began writing a regular column for Inc. magazine called “Balancing Acts” that explored work-life balance and the intersection of family and business in an entrepreneurial setting. Meg’s book, For Better or For Work: A Survival Guide For Entrepreneurs and Their Families, expands on her column topics. Axiom Business Book Awards, AMEX Open Forum, and Entrepreneur magazine cited Meg’s book as one of the best business books of 2012. Meg has also written two yogurt cookbooks.