Tamar Farm had its beginnings with Richard and Chrissie Wright both growing up in farming families on opposite sides of the world.

Richard, originally from Devon, England, grew up next to the Tamar River that divides Devon and Cornwell. There, his parents farmed Red Devon cattle, beginning his lifelong interest in the breed. Richard worked with Devon cattle in Gloucestershire before emigrating to New Zealand.

Chrissie grew up on a sheep and beef farm in New Zealand’s idyllic Marlborough Sounds. She also worked in the Thoroughbred horse industry, as well as spending time traveling and working overseas.

The couple met in 1991 while both working in the Waikato. Together, they worked their way to farm ownership through dairy farming – contract milking, sharemilking and equity partnerships. They also raised three children – Jess, Tom and Olly.

In 2002, they purchased the first 259-hectare block of Tamar Farm. Richard and Chrissie have grown the business to 2000 hectares over the last 20 years.

At Tamar Farm, stewardship is extremely important to us. We take pride in everything we do, and our team are proud, too. We want the brand “Tamar” to be a name people recognise and associate with quality products.

Innovation is a big part of our farming, and we are always trying new technologies to improve ways of doing things. We also love being part of the community of Mt Somers and wider Mid Canterbury, and do what we can to support it.

We strive in our day-to-day operations to look after four key pillars of our business: Our people, animals, land and environment.

People

We get a huge thrill out of helping people to grow and develop their potential. Nothing pleases us more than seeing them progress in their careers, whether it is getting New Zealand residency, sharemilking or going on to farm ownership.

Animals

We ensure that all our team members are skilled and enjoy working with stock. We don’t use farm dogs, and all our animals are very quiet. Our farm is closed, and no new animals are introduced from other farms, ensuring the highest level of biosecurity.

Land and Environment

We are always looking at ways to enhance our land and the environment, and believe it is our duty to leave it in a better state than when we took it over. Richard is the chairman of our local Environmental Catchment group which monitors the health of the rivers which border the farm.