Our Farmers

Haunui is situated 32kms southeast of Waipukurau, in the Wanstead/Flemington district of Central Hawke’s Bay. James and Sue have owned the intensive deer and bull finishing property for seven years and both take an active part in the day-to-day running of it.

They were attracted to First Light by the forward thinking commitment to improving the whole supply chain — from genetics and production, right through to the promotion of venison as a niche product with a point of difference. The “all round year” supply concept was also attractive as it allows them to better finish stock according to their farming type and systems.

Haunui is extensively planted with shelter belts and trees, giving shade and shelter, and providing a good environment for the animals. As with all First Light products the animals from Haunui are raised outdoors in a healthy environment. “The venison we produce is a high quality, wholesome product that has been sent to the customer with their needs in mind”.

In the Hewitt household the favourite way to eat venison is sliced, marinaded delicately and cooked hot on a barbeque.

Riverslea Trust is made up of three blocks. The breeding unit (260ha) is under the Ruahine Ranges where it is summer safe and the two finishing blocks (202 and 93ha) are on flat to rolling country where it is warmer in the winter. We run 700 breeding hinds and finishing all of the fawns as well as running finishing cattle and breeding ewes. On all properties trees are being planted in an ongoing programme to provide shelter, shade and erosion control.

The farm is operated on a day to day basis by Richard and Emma on the breeding unit and Nick and Jane (Richard’s parents) on the finishing units. When major tasks are being undertaken everyone helps.

We joined First Light because we like the way we, as farmers, could have input further than just the farm gate. It also gives us stable pricing that we can use for planning, and we like the more direct feedback from First Light consumers.

The Lawson’s like to cook the fillets whole.  First searing it on the hot plate and then in a super hot oven wrapped in tin foil for 10 mins and then left to rest. Serve in slices on mashed potato, with roasted winter vegetables and a hunter sauce (an old family recipe of red wine and crab apple jelly).

2 Tier Trust with a holding Co and a Farming sub committee.

Trust Chairman Rakei  Taiaroa

Farm Sub Committee Chairman- John Kahu

Farm Manager – Colin Gates

Maori Owned since 1200AD

Consists of 4000ha with 3000ha farmed with livestock. 13000 ewes plus replacements, 550 cows plus replacements, 2200 hinds plus replacements

Breed, finish and trade in all classes except deer. Deer breed and finish only.

Being part of a small group of like minded people striving to be continually better than the average in the production of a quality food product.

The ability to have some surety of pricing and supply make reporting to a trust committee a lot more accurate.

Provenance relates to the fact the land has been owned and farmed in one way or another for 800 years and is owned by a large number of people to be farmed sustainably for the benefit of future generations. To sustainably farm Waihi Pukawa in an environmental way means it has to be profitable as well without compromising animal welfare.

Regional winner Maori Farmer of the Year and National finalist Maori Farmer of the Year.

The owners and management of Waihi Pukawa farm the property because it is what we do well we aim tp produce a quality product from an area that leads New Zealand in environmental practices.

Tony & Lynda Gray, together with their daughters Rebecca and Catherine, farm at the top of the scenic Pohangina Valley nestled under the Ruahine Ranges in the northern Manawatu.

They own 408 hectares (approx 1,000 acres) of easy hill country of which about 140ha is regenerating native trees protected by a QEII covenant. 140 ha of the farm is fenced for deer and they farm about 300 hinds, 1,200 ewes and 75 beef breeding cows taking younger cattle through to their second winter.

First Light Venison is the reason that they are still farming deer. Being part of a vertically integrated company marketing venison to the world is a great opportunity. They are breeders and their goal is to produce well grown weaner deer for other members of the group to finish using Wapiti and Eastern Red sire stags. Their favourite venison is a sliced fillet lightly barbecued and served with a fresh salad.

Jane and Jacquetta are a mother and daughter team who joined First Light when the company was first formed. Their property, Tarndale, in Colyton, Feilding, and the Pohangina Valley includes a deer breeding and finishing property along with sheep and beef. They were  attracted to First Light because of the consistency it offered to suppliers, the excitement the group has about what it’s doing and the direct-to-consumer marketing.

After Derrick Ward, Jane’s husband, passed away suddenly, their daughter Jacquetta, working in Sydney at the time, made the decision to come home and manage the farm on behalf of the estate (which includes her three sisters). As female farmers, Jane and Jacquetta believe the First Light principles are second nature — animal husbandry especially comes naturally. They see a brilliant future for venison and say they will continue to be part of it for a long time yet.  “We are encouraging more friends and family to eat this delicious and healthy meat,” says Jane.

At Tarndale they choose to serve venison as a steak marinated in a little oil, soya sauce and sweet chill and served with a boysenberry sauce.

Poronui is a 6,500 hectare property in the central high country of the North Island, 40 minutes from Taupo. The property is owned by Westervelt, a land resource organisation with a very strong appreciation for the environment and its conservation. In recent years considerable effort has been made to fence off waterways and return land used for eucalypt forestry to its natural state of open pastureland or native bush.

The vision for Poronui is to build a herd of 1,000 cows and work on development of value-added primary products, hence the partnership with First Light to take Wagyu to the consumer market. As a business with firsthand experience in international marketing and distribution, Westervelt knows well how much value First Light adds to the mix.

The Didsbury family first bought the property in 1877. Guy is the fifth generation on Pirinoa Station. Guy came home to the family farm in 1997 and became manager in 2004. In 2009 he became majority shareholder.

The property is predominantly lamb finishing, with some breeding cows and trading and finishing cattle including Wagyu. There is also some cash and forage cropping.

Guy sees a large upside in First Light compared to the normal beef market. The decision to become part of First Light was predominately an economic decision and Guy sees more potential through the First Light system that traditional prime finishing.

Animal welfare is an integral part of everyday business on Pirinoa, and Guys says that this should be second nature to every farmer. All animals should be well fed and looked after in the best way possible. Provenance and Pirinoa go hand in hand. Guy believes that sustainability is also something very important on Pirinoa. The land should be left in a better condition that when we took it over for our future generations to use. He also sees economic sustainability as a critical part of the business. “We wouldn’t be doing it if it was not economically sustainable.”

“If Wagyu is not the healthiest beef in the world, what is?”

Pakihiroa Farms Limited – a subsidiary of the runanga – leases and manages Pakihiroa, the farm on Hikurangi maunga that is owned by the runanga for and on behalf of all Ngati Porou people. Pakihiroa Farms Ltd owns and manages Puanga, a farm on the outskirts of Gisborne that is run as a complementary farming operation to Pakihiroa.

Te Tua Station is owned by Mike and Charlotte Glazebrook. Others involved in the business are stock manager, Phil Lloyd and Operations Manager, Nigel Halpin.

The business is 4th generation and been farming for 30 years. The farm consists of 800ha mixed cropping and Lamb and Beef finishing.

We have chosen to be part of First Light because we like the concept of supplying a niche market in an organized integrated manner.

Animal Welfare and Sustainability are non negotiable on farm factors. Provenance is important to reassure customers their concerns are being taken care of.

In 2005, we were awarded the Hawkes Bay Environment Award.

Our message to you is… please enjoy; we have produced this for you

The Lock family own and manage Lock Agri Limited, located in Alford Forest, mid Canterbury.

When they’re not tending their 273ha property (which includes 63ha leased) you’ll likely find Dusty, Sam, Chris and their families at the Methven Rugby Club, where all three Locks are involved as committee members.

Otherwise, they’re kept busy with farming life – Dusty and Sam (pictured with wife Sarah and daughter Zoe) are responsible for the day-to-day running of the farm, and Chris works as a grain agent for PGG Wrightson.

Sam says First Light helped the Lock family diversify the beef finishing component of their business, which combines finishing dairy X and Wagyu and dairy support. “Grass-fed Wagyu is a great product in a niche market,” he says. And First Light’s values align with the Locks’ own. Key principals like animal welfare and environmental sustainability “are very important to us,” he continues. “By incorporating them into our business, we are ensuring the product we sell is quality.”

And Sam says he hopes consumers notice the First Light difference at retail and “take into consideration the quality of the product coming from a grass-fed animal.”

Vern and his son Hamish farm together near Marton. In 2015/16 they finished over 100 Wagyu x Dairy cattle. They plan to buy and finish approximately 100 cattle per year. They find this complements the contract lamb finishing programme they have with Ovation.

We farm under the umbrella of Nukuhakari Station on the West Coast in the Southern King Country in the North Island (luckily we have 7 km of rugged coastline).

We are a family business with three main Shareholders. Our business consists of 27,500 stock units that is farmed over two properties of 2, 350 totalling hectares of grass as well as 2,000 ha of Native Forest. The operation is both breeding and finishing, we have a ewe flock of 8,300 ewes and calve 870 cows as well as finishing brought in cattle.  A component of the farm are wagyu cattle that are born from Younger Cows in the herd and then these are finished on a grass diet.

Being on the West Coast of the North Island means that we generally have quite a mild  climate with a consistent rainfall although sometimes consistent could be substituted for what feels like constant through the winter months.

We have farmed at Nukuhakari since 2003 in that time we have seen a lot of changes within the Industry and that is why we are excited to be involved with Firslight Foods and Wagyu Cattle because we believe that going forward there is some real value to be derived for the Consumer and Producer from Premium Products.

When not farming we love spending time with our three young boys either following them on the sports fields(they love hockey and  rugby) or enjoying the great outdoors be it on our farm or further afield.