Our Farmers

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.”

John, Julie and family are Sheep and beef farming just out of Taumarunui. They currently breed Wagyu weaners from their Angus herd and also purchase weaners.

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.

Our farm is a 160 ha beef finishing unit located close to Maungakaramea, 15 minutes south west of Whangarei in Northland.

Since our first purchase of Wagyu cattle in 2012, we have slowly transitioned from a dairy support / local trade heifer operation to today being an almost 100% Firstlight finisher.

Joining a youthful, driven and passionate company which brings innovation and clarity to the beef industry has been refreshing and enlightening.

Knowing that we are now part of a select group which is producing and marketing the Firstlight Grassfed NZ label to consumers worldwide is inspiring.

Our aim is to continue to produce quality Firstlight Wagyu beef to the highest standards and have it recognised by the best judges in the world – you – the customer.

Peter and Sue farm 50ha in the King Country when they are not working at their respective full time jobs. Peter hopes to purchase about 50 odd Wagyu x Dairy weaners each and sell the tops store at 18 months and finish the balance the following year. In the 2015/16 year they finished 25 cattle and sold 270 yearlings store.

You’ll find Rangatira Station just south west of Gisborne. It operates as a farming company, owned by the original founder’s daughter – Anne Thomas – and her adult children Norman and Christine.

Today, the farm spans 1580 hectares total area with a further 155 hectares of lease land farmed on the adjoining boundary. With approximately 14,500 stock units,  Director and Farm Manager Norman Thomas says he runs a mix of Angus/Angus X breeding cows and a Coopworth ewe flock, with all animals predominantly bred and finished on the property utilising summer feed crops and improved pastures. “The First Light Wagyu involvement sees Wagyu bulls mated to younger cows, resulting in easy calving and a lively, healthy Wagyu/Angus calf,” says Norman. “We raise and finish our Wagyu here at Rangatira using lush pastures, fresh water and abundant Gisborne sunshine.”

Rangatira Station also leases around 100 hectares to local growers each summer for cash cropping, and the farm is a regular host for horse sports, horse hunting, dog sales and shearing schools.

First Light appealed to Rangatira initially as a safe option for heifer calving. “More so though,” says Norman, “it is an opportunity to be part of a high quality, sustainable and branded pure food source. It is a full producer-to-consumer food chain. Joining First Light has highlighted the relevance of traceable, sustainable protein – meaning on-farm we are doing more to record, monitor and trace our animals. It has shown us the importance of a branded story around our farming practices and the marketing of product to the world’s consumers.”

Norman says Rangatira chose to become First Light shareholders because of its commitment to producing a premium eating experience for consumers. “You’ll never have a better meat-eating experience” he enthuses. “It’s about producing food that you can stand behind and say ‘I’ve produced this using only natural sunshine and water to grow grass which these animals consume.’ The processes we undertake on farm are humane and ethical. We farm to pass our land on to the next generation, in as good or better state as we first farmed it.”

Jerry and Diana, along with their son James and his wife Katherine, farm Wagyu cattle on The Brow Farms, 50km south of Hastings in Central Hawkes Bay.

When they heard of what Firstlight were up to with their Wagyu cattle they were keen to get on board, seeing a real opportunity in a new, innovative and quality product. Animal welfare, sustainability and the environment play an important role in how James and Jerry run their farming business and Firstlight’s own vision aligned with this.

The Brow Farms now finish 300-400 Wagyu steers annually and graze Wagyu bulls when they are having a rest from mating.