Our Story
Matakana Meadows is made up of 2 properties, purchased in 2021, totaling 250ha, with approximately half of the land in native bush & the other half currently in pasture, though the ratio of native bush is set to increase as we fence off & plant areas such as natural wetlands & some steep faces better suited to bush than pasture.
The Farms
The Matakana Farm or the Home Farm, is idyllically located on the outskirts of the Matakana Village & serves as a backdrop to the town. It is a farm steeped in local history, being in the previous owner’s family for over 100 years. It also bares a great responsibility as the last farm on the Matakana River before it flows into the village.
Our other property is approximately 10 minutes away on the edge of the dome valley forest & is where we farm most of our breeding stock. Our focus there is on simple farming systems which have a positive impact on the surrounding environment.
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The Home Farm is where our farm gate shop is located, and where we are focusing most of our diversifications.
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Diversification
To keep things simple while we found our feet, the decision was made to farm only beef for the first season and to build the plan from there.
So, we had Jake covered with some beef animals on the farm, it was an obvious choice then that our first diversification be into dairy to make the most of Emma’s skills and passion.
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Thus began the journey into selling raw milk at the farm gate. Over the course of 12 months or so, we imported vending machines to sell the milk and bottles, refurbished the original cowshed which hadn’t been milked in for over 20 years, built the shop, purchased the dairy cows and got our paperwork in order.
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We are proud to now be selling Raw Cows Milk from our self-service farm gate shop.
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Our People
Meet Our Ecosystem Managers
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​Jake and Emma moved from Otago to Matakana in June of 2022 to take on the role of making the Matakana Meadows vision a reality. Starting from scratch in an entirely new climate and community, with their first child on the way and working together for the first time, you could say they really jumped off the deep end!
The Ecosystem Managers
With their mixed backgrounds, Emma a dairy farmer and Jake having spent most of his career in sheep and beef, the two have put their heads and skills together to begin building a diverse farming system which doesn’t fit into one box or another.
They recognize that their role as “Farm Managers” encompasses a much larger responsibility than just the farm operations and that they are responsible for an entire ecosystem, both within and around their farm. Thus, the title “Farm Ecosystem Managers” has been adopted.
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Emma
Emma is our star Dairy Manager as well as Co-Manager of General Operations alongside Jake. She grew up on a family sheep and beef farm in North Taranaki, providing her with a solid grounding in the farming industry.
After high school, Emma decided that university wasn’t her path. With limited job opportunities locally, she cast her net nationwide and landed on a dairy farm near Oamaru in North Otago. This marked the beginning of a lifelong career and passion. Emma spent ten years dairy farming in the South Island, between North Otago and Southland, successfully working her way up to management roles.
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During the winter off-seasons, Emma made time to travel, visiting the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe, Australia, and many parts of New Zealand, including trips back to Taranaki to see family. As she advanced in her career, Emma began to question the high nitrogen use and increasing stress on animals, land, and people in modern dairy farming.
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Meeting Jake, who had been involved in Regenerative Agriculture for several years, and working with Rob Flynn from Soil Matters, inspired her to explore practices that align more closely with nature. Emma’s passion and drive helped secure their roles at Matakana Meadows. She took a daring leap of faith, moving from Ngapara to Matakana despite having no experience in regenerative farming and no dairy operations for at least the first 12 months.
Emma has been integral in setting up Matakana Meadows and has adapted to new farming methods with expertise and enthusiasm. She is the driving force behind our transition to using homeopathy for animal health and has played a key role in establishing our Raw Milk venture. Now a proud mother, Emma cherishes the opportunity to pursue her passion for farming while raising a family.
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Jake
Jake, our Sheep and Beef man, is responsible for our beef herd, our small number of sheep, infrastructure development, and Co-Managing General Operations with Emma. He grew up in rural Manawatu on small lifestyle blocks and spent much of his childhood on his
grandparents' sheep and beef farms.
Though he had a rebellious teenage phase, more interested in modified cars and nights out than farming, Jake eventually found his way back to agriculture. Leaving school at 15, he worked in various jobs, including fast food, forestry, arboriculture, and building prefabrication, before working on his family's sheep and beef station in South Wairarapa. What was supposed to be a six-month job turned into a life-changing career.
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Jake’s shepherding career allowed him to work in some of New Zealand’s most beautiful landscapes, from the rugged South Wairarapa coast to the iconic South Island high country, as well as abroad in Canada and Australia. Throughout his career, Jake questioned the increasing use of synthetic inputs in farming.
Returning from Australia, he settled in Central Otago’s Teviot Valley and discovered the concept of Regenerative Agriculture. This sparked a renewed passion for farming and led him to lease a farm to practice these principles and work as a part-time farmer coach with Natural Performance Ltd.
Through his contacts at Natural Performance, Jake and Emma were approached about the opportunity to build and run Matakana Meadows. The opportunity aligned perfectly with Jake’s dream of creating a mixed enterprise farm system that connects directly with consumers and provides healthy, happy food to the local community. Now two years into the project, Jake appreciates the chance to build his dream while farming as a family with Emma and their son.
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