Konini Highland Fold was established in 1994. (A fold is the Scottish name for a herd of highland cattle)

We became involved after Scottish friends decided to buy some highland cattle. One had no farming knowledge and actually no farm. Tony was asked to accompany him at the time of purchase, because he had some knowledge of cattle.

They returned from Taranaki having purchased two bull calves from Ken and Carole Shaw and the rest as they say is history.

From that point on, we fell in love with these majestic beasts and for the last twenty-five or so years, have had no other breed on our farms nor have we eaten any other beef but that grown on our land.

A while ago, a friend who purchased a cow and calf from us, commented after trying the meat, that we had spoiled him from ever buying another steak in a restaurant. He reckoned he would never get the same quality as he could get at home.

Currently we are running twenty-five cows and forty offspring. Despite their horns, the cows are docile and their calves are similar in nature. All our cattle are grass fed and while we don’t have organic registration, we have always farmed under the organic principals. We don’t use sprays, drenches or pour on chemicals unless absolutely necessary. In fact a large number of our cattle have gone through their whole life with us and never had any intervention with chemicals. We use organic fertilisers, and our farming practice is a blend of organics, bio dynamic and permaculture.