Tamar Farm

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Tamar Farm Tamar Farm is a 2000 ha farm near Mt Somers, Mid Canterbury. Tamar Farm is 2000 hectares near Mt Somers in the Mid Canterbury foothills.

The farm was originally six adjoining properties and is set between two rivers. Predominately all grass with 57ha of fodder crops and 250ha of winter crops. There are three dairy units operated by sharemilkers milking a total of 3400 cows.

1250ha of the farm is irrigated by centre pivots, laterals and rotorainers using water from the BCI and ALIL schemes, and from a farm storage pond. The Stock
The dairy herds are predominately Friesian/Friesian Cross. Production last season was 1,569,457 kgs/MS

1360 calves were reared this spring. 737 are dairy replacement heifers. Approx 40 jersey bulls which are used for heifer mating following AI. The remainder are Devon Cross heifers which will be fattened for prime beef. We have herd of 300 Red Devon cows These calve in autumn. The Red Devon beef is sold as prime cuts to local restaurants, at farmers markets and direct from the farm gate. The area
The nearest main town, Ashburton, is 32 kms. Mt Somers is 8kms away and has a shop, primary school (to year 8), pub, garage, church, a top class restaurant, and sporting facilities including rugby club, squash club, tennis, netball & ice skating rink. Mt Somers is well known for its walkways and, Mt Hutt ski field is only 20 minutes away, and can be seen from the farm. The climate
Although mostly temperate can be hot and dry during December/January with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius. In winter snow can be expected most years. Generally winter is reasonably dry with frosts followed by sunny days. Rainfall is approx 820ml (33 inches) per annum. Summary
We have a completely self contained closed farming system. With all replacements and winter grazing on farm. A great team spirit throughout, with attention to detail being foremost.

23/09/2026
We are very happy to announce that we are now supplying Out the Farm Gate with our meat. Check out their website in lin...
18/09/2026

We are very happy to announce that we are now supplying Out the Farm Gate with our meat. Check out their website in link below. What a great way to bring farmers’ produce direct to the consumer.

Red Devon beef Tamar FarmRed Devon beef, Mt Somers Richard and Chrissie Wright farm between two rivers under Mt Somers, with the Southern Alps behind them. Their Red Devon herd goes back to Richard's childhood beside the Tamar River in Devon, where his parents ran the same breed. Mt Somers, Mid Cant...

12/09/2026
Calf rearing 2026 is underway. This year Chrissie will not be doing calves for the first time in 33 years 😳 but no doub...
31/07/2026

Calf rearing 2026 is underway. This year Chrissie will not be doing calves for the first time in 33 years 😳 but no doubt she will still be hanging around the calf sheds to prevent any withdrawal symptoms 😂.

Congratulations to all the team at Bessie for making it into the Michelin Guide. We are very proud to supply Tamar beef...
23/07/2026

Congratulations to all the team at Bessie for making it into the Michelin Guide. We are very proud to supply Tamar beef to this wonderful restaurant.

Thank you to Carly Gooch and the team at The Press for the recent feature on Bessie.

We're grateful for the coverage and the thoughtful read on our journey to Michelin Guide Select.

If you're a Press subscriber, take a look.

The Press

16/07/2026

I have been meaning to share this for awhile. Always great to hear feedback about our wonderful meat…

Afternoon Richard & Chrissie, I felt I had to message & give you all a big compliment in regards to your Red Devon beef that Ellesmere Butchery sells. We held, as the hosts, the annual AGM for the Red Devon Association on 23rd May at our farm on Banks Peninsula, along with a stud walk. For a very special treat for lunch I had made by a very dear Cornish friend - Pasties, made with your Red Devon Chuck steak purchased from Ellesmere Butchery - 5kg of it !! Our pasty maker said that this was THE BEST beef that she had ever used for making pasties. All the pasties were well received that day by all of us... So. just a thank you for producing such heavenly beef. Thanks, regards Holdstock Family -Ellesmere Red Devons

The farm teams all met last night at the Staveley Ice Rink for some fun on the ice, sausages, and toasted marshmallows.
16/07/2026

The farm teams all met last night at the Staveley Ice Rink for some fun on the ice, sausages, and toasted marshmallows.

Tamar’s Biggest Bulb competition weigh in today! Results as follows-1st place Josh with 9.85kgs2nd place Neil with 9.52...
03/07/2026

Tamar’s Biggest Bulb competition weigh in today! Results as follows-

1st place Josh with 9.85kgs
2nd place Neil with 9.52kgs
3rd place Sherwin with 9.19kgs

Children’s section
1st place Emerson with 6.09kgs
2nd place Wade with 5.44kgs

Richard will be in touch with the prizes 🙂
Thanks to everyone for entering.

These results show why we won the Mid Canterbury Winter Feed Competition with our Swedes. What whoppers!! 🫜

17/06/2026
And calving has commenced for 2026 for the Devons ❤️
03/03/2026

And calving has commenced for 2026 for the Devons ❤️

Address

511 Lochheads Road, R D 1
Ashburton
7771

Telephone

+6433039004

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Tamar Farm posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Tamar Farm:

Shortcuts

Share