A small flock and deer herd — the quieter citizens of the working estate.
Around a 130 ewes — a three-way cross of self-shedding Wiltshire, hardy African Meatmaster, and Australian White for the frame. No shearing at all: the wool drops where it grows, carrying minerals back into the soil. No drenching, no dipping — resilience is bred, not bought, and the newest cross even shows marbling in the lamb.
The sheep earn their keep twice over — tidying the sidelines and eating the weeds, and leading the grazing rotation in the wet season, firming the soft new soils so the heavier cattle don't pug the paddocks.
The AngusTakapoto was a deer farm before it was anything else — the deer fencing threaded across the estate is their legacy. Around fifty hinds remain, good old bloodlines, velvetted each spring. As farm manager Jacques puts it — "They're not making money, but they look nice. This was a deer farm before. They belong here."
