Duncan, Wendy and their three children all play an active part in Forest Gate. The property, located in Central Hawke’s Bay, runs sheep, bull beef and finishes First Light deer and First Light Wagyu.

Duncan said it was an easy decision to become part of First Light as it is all about relationships. All the people in the business are accessible, listen and work together to achieve a common goal. We are closely aligned to the decision makers in the market and get honest answers — that is our competitive advantage.

Duncan and Wendy see themselves as caretakers of Forest Gate, taking a living off the land in such a way that will allow others to do the same in the future. They build their business around this philosophy and First Light’s policy of year-round supply and consistent pricing enables them to better manage their farming system to achieve this.