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 Chris and hummel bull Sinclair at the age of 7 months
 Daniel brushing McKenzie in the yards
Although a GP by trade with no previous farming experience, I had always dreamt of one day owning a piece of land and be self-sufficient.
After a long search we finally purchased the perfect 20 acres block overlooking the North shore of Lake Rotorua.
I tried all the traditional farming methods, like raising calves, finishing store lambs, fattening pigs and finishing steers - although I worked very hard, I didn't even break even.
Therefore I began to look for lifestock, which would give me a return on my investment and satisfy my interest in breeding and genetics.
 boys bottlefeeding calves
We purchased our first starter pack, consisting of a young hornless bull calf and two heifers, a dun one and a red one.
When they finally arrived, we were immediately captured by their beautiful looks and their inquisitive and friendly personalities.
My initial worries of running a bull on a small block were totally unfounded. Sinclair turned out to be a complete gentleman - as Highland bulls usually are. He still greets me everytime I approach him and I can easily halter him in the paddock.
My four boys help with feeding-out and halter-training and love their new life on the farm.
 boys brushing Gwyneth in the garden
I called my new fold "KINTYRE HIGHLANDS" after the "Mull of Kintyre", a beautiful peninsula in Western Scotland.
A visit to the three largest Highland folds in Scotland in January 2008 made me realize that Highland cattle are first and foremost a beef breed - and one of the best in the world- can be successfully farmed commercially and -amongst all cattle breeds - have the greatest potential to improve.
On my return to New Zealand, I realized that my lifestyle block had become too small for the intentions I had with the Highland cattle - therefore we had to move yet again: This time to a 1000 acres sheep and beef farm near Wanganui. Co-incidentally the opportunity arose to purchase "Trossachs Highlands" a Highland cattle stud with a reputation for breeding quality cattle.
My new stud is called Trossachs-Kintyre and consists currently of 120 breeding cows and nine studbulls.
We have expanded the blood-lines by exporting semen straws and embryos from overseas as well as expanding our commercial cow herd.We are committed to constantly improving the quality of our herd by evaluating all animals with a strict point scoring system and culling rigorously: That applies to bulls as well as heifers.
We have also started our own brand of beef: TK Highland Beef. We sell beef at farmers markets as well as delivering meat packages locally. Demand outstrips supply by far, so there is scope for expansion. Red Bull winning Reserve Champion as a yearling
Trossachs Highlands
 Showing is such hard work!
Countless successes in the showring proove the quality of the cattle.
The Only Highland Stud in New Zealand to:
Win 4 out of 6 New Zealand Highland Cattle Champions
There have only ever been six professionally acknowledged supreme Highland Champions in New Zealand. - Three were bred by Trossachs Highlands.
- One was sired by a Trossachs Highlands bull.
- Another was owned by Trossachs Highlands.
The Black Herd
Trossachs Kintyre plans to grow into the international market by: - developing a high quality separate black fold based on imports of semen straws and use of embryo transfer
- importing bloodlines from bigger, beefier animals to continue the development of Highlanders as a commercial beef animal
- developing a larger framed, earlier maturing animal, while still retaining the qualities of being sound in structure and temperament.
Learn more about the Black Herd here.
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