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Those three friends—Jason Ross, Gerard Hickey and Greg Evans—set out to do something very simple: Raise the best cattle on the best land. Period. They enlisted some of the country’s best farmers, who had the best grazing land—which, for a country famous for green pastures, is saying something. On this land they put Wagyu cattle—the Japanese breed best known as “Kobe beef,” which produces extraordinarily marbled, succulent beef. They called their company First Light, because dawn breaks first on the rich, deeply mineralized soils of New Zealand before rolling west across the rest of the globe
It was exciting, but it was also risky. Achieving Wagyu’s incredible potential for marbling requires the right feed. The Japanese fatten their Wagyu on a blend of barley and rice straw, which creates its famous lacework of fat, but the flavor is mild and can be too rich. In the US, so called “American Wagyu” often comes from massive feedlots. No one had ever tried fattening these cattle on grass. No one knew if it was even possible.
To be honest, it wasn’t easy. Slowly but surely, over numerous generations of beef, we did it! And the result is not only happy cows, producing healthy beef with astounding Omega 3s, but an unparalleled flavor. “For most people, it’s like a Eureka moment,” Jason says, “When that sweet, nutty, deep flavour hits your senses, they realize this is on another level. This is the real deal.”
20 years later and we're just getting started.
