Lincoln University has now committed to make the farm a permanent base for training in the lower North Island.
It's to open next year with 15 to 20 full-time students, the director of the university's Telford division Charley Lamb said.
The farm will teach and research sheep and beef finishing with the lowest possible environmental impact. Through alliances with the Otiwhiti Station Land Based Training School and the Te Hou Farm near Bulls, its students will be able to study sheep and beef breeding and finishing and dairy farming, as well as horticulture and arboriculture through care of the Westoe gardens.
The university also has a memorandum of understanding with Rangitikei iwi Ngati Apa to help train local young people in farm skills. Some of that training is likely to be done at Westoe. Students of Feilding High School and Wanganui Collegiate School may also be taught there.
Lincoln is to lease the farm to the Duncan Land Co, which will manage it along with Otiwhiti. Teaching will be provided by seven Lincoln staff based in Feilding.
The new Lincoln University Westoe Trust is to have five trustees: Murray Dickinson, Andy West and Tom Lambie from Lincoln and Dr David Marshall and Jim Howard from Rangitikei.
Speakers yesterday paid tribute to the Howard family's generosity in handing over the highly productive land.
Lincoln University chancellor Tom Lambie said the gift was something quite unique in New Zealand. "This is quite an amazing thing to do. Future generations will owe the family."
Te Runanga o Ngati Apa chairman Pahia Turia said the district's population was steadily declining, and the school should help arrest that.
"A platform like this is a huge opportunity for us all."
Mr Howard was just happy the farm would be well cared for, and that it would stay with sheep and beef.
"This had better be a very good thing, because it's taken a very long time," he said.