46 | Leading red deer stud Challenging summer rain The operation now has around 1000 deer across 166 hectares of fertile, irrigated land. Kelly Deeks Kim Bowden Near Riversdale in Southland, Altrive Red Deer is celebrating a century of continuous Elder family ownership after being accepted for a New Zealand Century Farm Award. The farm, first purchased by James and Euphemia Elder in 1918, has been in the family for four generations and has grown into one of New Zealand’s leading red deer velvet studs. James and Euphemia Elder came from Kakanui in North Otago, raising nine children while developing the Riversdale property. Their son Keith and his wife Freda took over in 1950, followed by Geoff Elder in 1979, who began performance recording 200 of the family’s Romney ewes, launching a registered Romney stud. In 1985, Geoff bought his first hinds and recorded them, steadily expanding a velvet breeding operation that now includes around 1000 deer across 166 hectares of fertile, irrigated land. Under Geoff’s guidance, the farm focused on growth rates and velvet quality. Early two-year-old stags weighed 1.3kg of velvet, and today, two-yearold keepers average more than 5kg. His son Andrew and wife Samantha now manage the day-to-day operations, continuing a legacy built on genetics, animal welfare, and environmental stewardship. Andrew Elder grew up on the farm before gaining extensive experience in the dairy and sheep-andbeef sectors, including more than a decade at a large Te Anau property. He returned to Altrive more than ten years ago and is particularly focused on developing three-year-old sire stags, evaluating their physical attributes, temperament, and velvet quality to meet the farm’s stringent breeding objectives. Samantha Elder, a Massey University-trained veterinarian, spent seven years in rural mixed practice before joining Altrive. She now works part-time in her veterinary and consultancy business while overseeing the farm’s animal health, reproductive programs, and welfare standards. “We want our deer to be happy, healthy, and productive,” Samantha says. Altrive Red Deer has two annual sales that draw national attention. The on-farm January sale offers sire stags, two-year-old velvetting stags, and yearling hinds, while the August online in-fawn hind sale through BIDR has expanded the market to include more bidders nationwide. For years Canterbury grower Robin Oakley could almost set his watch by the seasons. Hot, dry summers meant irrigation plans were straightforward, and planting and harvest dates were pencilled in with confidence. “It’s the third year now that it’s not been a typical Canterbury growing season,” he says. “This year there was something of a slightly cooler spring and then getting very hot and dry late November early December period, and then Christmas time on getting an unseasonable amount of rain right the way through.” The extra rain has slashed irrigation requirements - irrigators have “basically been turned off since Christmas” - but it hasn’t made life easier. Instead of worrying about crops drying out, Robin has had to watch for paddocks getting too wet at the wrong time. The impact has varied crop by crop. Potatoes, managed carefully, have been able to thrive. “If you’re keeping your crop health good, it [the rain] encourages bigger potato yields because the potatoes are spending less time trying to survive and more time actually growing and bulking up,” Robin says. Broccoli has been more challenging. “The broccoli enjoy those conditions, but then, the flip side, that’s encouraged slugs,” he says. “You don’t normally expect to have slugs in your crop in the middle of summer in Canterbury...which has been quite a big challenge for us.” Arable crops are battling the lack of a good, oldfashioned dry spell. Wheat grown for feed can tolerate a bit of sprouting, but other seeds need hot, settled weather to finish properly. On one leased block, a cover crop has gone from almost nothing to knee‑high on the back of repeated rain. The unpredictable conditions have changed how Robin needs to manage day-to-day logistics. “When you’re not getting rain events, you pretty much just plan…we’re going to plant broccoli on DEER / HORTICULTURE » Altrive Red Deer / Oakleys Premium Fresh Vegetable Pleased to support Altrive Red Deer Gore Winton Queenstown Balclutha Alan Macdonald Jack Perniskie Erin Howes Caleb Macdonald Stephen Kornyei Together, Creating the Best Soil and Feed on Earth We are proud to support Altrive RedDeer throughMyBallance tools that helpmake their nutrient management easy. FERTILISER SPREADING | FARM MAPPING GPS TRACKING | VARIABLE RATE SPREADING LIVESTOCK CARTAGE | DAILY FREIGHT CONCRETE SUPPLIES | GRAIN CARTAGE SHINGLE SUPPLIES | FERTILISER SUPPLIES Leeston: 03 3248 070 | Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz The farm’s breeding philosophy is simple: produce elite velvet and robust, well-tempered deer for breeding. Sire stags and hinds are selected for conformation, temperament, and velvet quality, with health programs including vaccinations and disease monitoring. Embryo transfer, artificial insemination, and semen collection are also used to accelerate genetic progress. Environmental and conservation practices are central to the operation. Stock is excluded from sensitive areas, native plantings are encouraged, and predator trapping supports bird biodiversity. Soil testing and winter grazing management help maintain productivity while protecting the land for future generations. For Andrew and Samantha, farming at Altrive is both a business and a lifestyle. “It’s not just about deer,” Andrew says. “It’s about family, community, and leaving a legacy.” Samantha adds, “We love what we do and hope our children grow up appreciating this land and the opportunities it provides.” The Century Farm Award, formally presented in 2026, recognises the Elders’ dedication to keeping Altrive thriving across four generations. It’s a milestone that celebrates not just longevity, but innovation, excellence in velvet genetics, and a deep connection to the land and community. Tuesday…harvest that crop on Friday…the weather’s always going to be fine, so you can pretty much do what you want, when you want,” Robin says. Now, every move is a calculation around incoming fronts, soil conditions and staff availability. “It can take two goes to get a job done with the wet weather,” he says. “It can take more man hours to get jobs done… it adds a bit of cost, adds a bit of complexity, and definitely needs more management input.” He is blunt about the financial pressure on the business. “The whole sustainability of what we’re doing from an economic point of view is still very much in question…that’s going to be a question for another year or three years,” he says. Upgrading tractors and machinery has “never been more expensive”, and with the dollar low, the business is holding off on major purchases in the hope imported gear will become more affordable. Labour remains another pressure point. They have plenty of good workers - but most are on working holiday visas. “It’s quite a big cost to be relying on that for a big percentage of your staff.” Despite the juggling act with weather, economics and staff, Robin says the motivation behind the business remains unchanged. “We’re still producing a lot of really good quality vegetables,” he says. “Our motivation…is to have a good supply of quality fresh, healthy food…for the New Zealand public to eat. So that’s our main goal, and we’re hitting that out of the park.” Proud to support Oakleys Premium Fresh Vegetables Our collaborative approach, quality staff and innovative solutions means our customers receive excellent value for money, compliance, planning and meaningful reporting along the entire project lifecycle. CoolLogic is unique in approach. We tailor a solution working in partnership with our customers which includes; needs-based system design, planned and preventative ongoing management and maintenance service programmes, plus a 24-hour service response team.
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