It is not often a gathering of farmers down in the South Island get to hear directly from the world’s top chefs.
But at the Headwaters “muster” held in Wanaka last month, the 120 farmers who supply Headwaters with Lumina lamb heard how and why their lambs were so important to the restaurant sector.
It is all about the fat, farmers were told via video from restaurants in Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and Taipei.
An intramuscular micro-marbling rich fat with Omega-3 that has become so important for chefs and diners alike.
Dan Harper, who manages Quartz Hill Station in the hills of Mid Canterbury with his wife Georgie, farms Lumina lamb.
“Headwaters is like a big family, we are proud that we are doing something different and that as part of that, we are also making a difference.
“We are a farming family. It is in our blood, I want my children to feel the same pride about what they do,” Harper said.
“At Headwaters we are all like-minded, we want to produce the world’s best lamb and do it in the right way.
“Hearing from those chefs what they love about Lumina gave me goosebumps, and seeing Lumina lamb on a menu, knowing it comes from this small group of farms here in New Zealand means a lot.
“We are not just putting our lambs on a truck at the farm gate – we remain connected to the end product and are inspired to make it the best.”
The ewes which were developed with a unique constitution to survive New Zealand’s high country 15 years ago have become the matriarchs of the premium protein.
And consumer demand for Lumina lamb has driven significant growth at Headwaters which has seen the volume of Lumina lamb go from 50,000 lambs to 104,000 in 12 months – in a market where supply is diminishing.
Headwaters has plans to double the number of farms that supply Lumina lamb to satisfy growing demand for the product from the global restaurant trade.
“But this is not about volume, it is scaling with purpose and about contributing to a thriving sheep and beef sector in New Zealand, helping farmers grow businesses worth handing over to the next generation, and ensuring that sustainably produced New Zealand lamb stays on the menu globally.
“All thanks to New Zealand sheep farmers,” Headwaters general manager Tim Saunders said.

• By Pat Deavoll