Day 6

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Hastings Farmer’s Market.  Many vendor booths to purchase goodies from



Sunday May 12-
Jam samples at one of the many booths
This morning we started our day by going to a local Farmer’s Market where we talked to several locals there. Networking with these individuals benefited the students by talking to vendors about their products and how they were processed. For example, some students talked to a small sheep and dairy cheese manufacturer, and they have individual codes for different farms on the label. This manufacturer also didn’t mix the milk from different farms together, hence why they were able to put the farm code on the label. Furthermore, students were able to talk to the locals about their agriculture background back in America and share a little about them. Some vendors that really stuck out were the cheese, wine, honey, jam, and vegetable. 



Some of Hastings Farmer’s Market booths
After the Farmers Market, we headed to the Brow Farm that raise Wagyu bull beef cattle. We met Jerry Brow, and got to see his farm which is located 31 miles south of Hastings. Jerry previously raised dairy and red deer, but a year ago he converted to Wagyu cattle with dairy-beef crosses. They currently have 400 Wagyu cattle on 720 hectares along with around 600 to 700 Fresian cattle. One of the things the students learned was that Wagyu cattle can only be grass-fed and cannot have a grain finishing diet, and these cattle also receive copper and selenium. This causes the cows to have an average daily gain of 1.32 pounds, and can be slaughtered around 2-3 years. However, these cattle can’t be slaughtered before 2 years of age and must be at least 1540 pounds before slaughter. During slaughter, the butcher enters the tag into First Light to ensure that they truly are Wagyu. There is a high demand for this type of meat because it is known for its marbling and is high in Omega 3. The jersey crosses are known for better marbling as well. 66% of the meat goes to Washington and California, with California being the highest receiver. The Brow Farm finishes 500 Wagyu cattle a year. Next, they also get audited once a year to ensure the quality and raising of these high end cattle. 

Waygu bulls at the Brow farm

Close-up of a Jersey Waygu bull


Students are off to enjoy a farm stay on the North Island. 

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