AgFirst - independent consultants to agriculture and horticulture

AgFirst Agriculture and Pastoral Consultants


From Northland to Southland AgFirst pastoral consultants bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in dairy, sheep, beef, deer and goat farming to clients at farm gate and corporate levels.

Sheep and Beef, Deer

The team and support personnel provide a forward-thinking support network in all aspects of the farming operation. As well as general consultancy, consultants provide client support in:

  • business planning and monitoring
  • technical management issues
  • sourcing farm labour
  • development programmes
  • financial budgeting
  • farm purchase and investment analysis

Property supervision and farm management for both resident and absentee owners are a strong feature in the portfolio, with our consultants playing a particularly strong role in such support to a large number of Maori owned properties in the Centre and East of the North Island.

Project facilitation and coordination maintains a strong focal point for progressive and proactive farm business consultancy.

Since its inception in 1995 the AgFirst team have worked to build an impressive database of farm physical and financial performance. This database covers five regions and has an added strength of being able to look at the performance of any number of sub-groups.

Dairy Farming

Our specialist dairy team is primarily based in the central North Island region servicing the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, King Country, Rotorua and Taupo regions.

The range of dairy services includes:

  • property supervision
  • technical decision support
  • business planning and monitoring
  • farm purchase and investment analysis
  • sourcing labour from sharemilkers to farm staff
  • financial budgeting and monitoring
  • group discussion/facilitation
The team has been involved with over 30 dairy conversions since 1989 from Waikato to Southland in both project management and planning roles through to providing technical support.

The AgFirst Agricultural and Pastoral Team

Bob Thomson Sheep and Beef Northland
Gareth Baynham Sheep and Beef Northland
John Hall Dairy, Sheep and Beef Waikato
James Allen Dairy, Sheep and Beef, Deer Waikato
Nico Mouton Dairy Waikato
Peter Gault Dairy, Sheep and Beef Waikato
Sally Lee Sheep and Beef Waikato
Nicola Waugh Dairy, Sheep and Beef, Deer Waikato
Peter Livingston Dairy, Sheep and Beef Rotorua, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, King Country
Mark Macintosh Dairy, Sheep and Beef, Deer Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Waikato
Darren McNae Dairy, Sheep and Beef Rotorua, Waikato, Bay of Plenty,
Hilton Collier Sheep and Beef Wairoa, Gisborne
Peter Andrew Sheep and Beef Gisborne
Rob Hayes Sheep and Beef Gisborne
Stephen Thomson Sheep and Beef Gisborne
Phil Tither Sheep and Beef Hawke's Bay
Lochie MacGillivray Sheep and Beef Hawke's Bay
Rod Savage Sheep and Beef Hawke's Bay
Karl Barclay Sheep and Beef Otago, Southland
Bruce McCorkindale Sheep and Beef Otago, Southland

Projects and Services

The following projects and services offer some insight in the capabilities of our agricultural and pastoral consultancy team.

Farm Services

Achieving optimal outcomes for any farm business means considering both physical resources and management input. AgFirst offers a full range of farm consultancy services and business planning services to help your farm improve its performance read more...

Sheep and Beef / Dairy Mentoring Scheme

This project is focused on bringing experienced farmers together with less-experienced for support and guidance in both the Sheep and Beef Sector and Dairying. Pilots have been run in the Waikato with the view to extend this nationwide read more...

National Goat Monitoring Project

Sally Lee co-ordinates this three-year project, jointly funded by the Sustainable Farming Fund, Meat & Wool NZ, Mohair NZ and NZ Boer Goat Association, focusing on on the collection of goat management data based on integrated systems nationwide.

Meat NZ / Woolpro Monitor Farm Programmes

AgFirst Pastoral Consultants have facilitated Meat NZ / WoolPro Monitor Farm Programmes in Waitomo, Waikato, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Central Otago. These highly successful programmes have been a key venue for sharing of technical information throughout the industry

See more agricultural projects and services >>