Mangarara is leading the way in farm-to-market meat sales, agritourism, and innovative agroforestry. The planting shown here is part of a silvoculture system — instead of separating forestry from agriculture, it integrates the two for stacked benefits.

It's World Localisation Day this Saturday 21st June.

As we near the time of Matariki & Winter Solstice, World Localization Day also exists to help us reconnect with the land, the growers, and the community around us.

The tipi was buzzing with energy last weekend as we gathered for a day all about compost. Lots of conversation was shared, flowers foraged, and our guests left with full hearts 🌻

New Zealand Food Safety (through FSANZ and MPI) is proposing to raise the allowable levels of glyphosate residue in some of our everyday kai. Wheat, oats, barley and peas. The staples.

As a synthetic chemical herbicide - glyphosate (the active compound in Roundup) is often sprayed pre-harvest to speed up the drying process. It lingers in the food, then it ends up in our bodies, our waterways, and in our soils - now being found in many places it shouldn’t.

Let’s be honest — it’s tough out there right now.

Wellington restaurants are navigating a slow economy, rising supply costs, labour shortages, and shifting diner habits. Even the best kitchens are fighting to stay full, stay inspired, and stay sustainable — financially and ecologically.

At Mangaroa Farms, we see that pressure clearly. And we want to be part of the solution.

We’re not just offering you meat. We’re offering a story, a supply chain you can trust, and a way to stand out in a shrinking pool of diners.

🌿 Who We Are

Mangaroa Farms is one of the last working farms in Wellington City — just 20km from the CBD.

We raise beef and lamb regeneratively, on chemical-free pastures, in sync with the seasons. We dry-age our meat for flavour and tenderness, and process locally at Taylor Preston — meaning our supply chain is as short as it gets.

No freight terminals. No central North Island bulk depots. Just real meat, raised for flavour, traceability, and values.

Just 40 minutes from the city streets of Wellington, tucked into the quiet Mangaroa Valley near Upper Hutt, is a place that feels a world away. Mangaroa Farms is a diverse kaupapa — a dynamic way of thinking and being. It’s where fresh air, living soil, and vibrant food systems come together. As Wellington’s premium working market garden, we’re offering something rare: the chance to reconnect with the whenua and your kai, right on the capital’s doorstep.

At Mangaroa Farms, we reckon meat should do more than just fill the plate. It should nourish the whenua, the animals, and the people. Our Mangaroa Meat is pasture-raised, grass-fed, and free from antibiotics and GMOs. The result? Happy cows, healthy soils, and nutrient-rich meat that tastes the way meat should.

This is the regenerative difference. It’s about knowing your kai and your farmer. Supporting local. Choosing quality. And now, we’re making it easier than ever with nationwide delivery across Aotearoa.

Come see the difference for yourself.

Taking a moment to acknowledge the huge Open Day weekend at Mangaroa Farms 🙌🏽🌿🌻 We welcomed over 1000 people through the gate, many of whom enjoyed themselves listening to live music in the tipi, dabbled in some tree planting, watched fencing, felting, sheep shearing, took part in kids games, and enjoying our famous lamb buns. It was a great day out there to experience and authentic farm day out with the whānau.

We’re close to that time of year, and team will be taking a well-deserved break over Christmas - meaning our shop and online sales will be closed periodically.

Any online orders that are placed during 25th Dec - 6th Jan (while we are closed) will automatically be sent the week we resume work from Tues 7th January 2025.

A few shots from out in the paddocks last week, where our Stock Manager Gav has been busy caring for our young calves / yearlings as they begin their journey in the world. Every day, new life emerges, bringing fresh energy to the herd 🌱

Stock management at this stage is crucial to ensuring our young ones grow to their full potential before they mate. Proper nutrition is key, and we make sure that each calf gets what it needs through a technique called break feeding. With break feeding, we open up fresh areas of pasture and fence off the sections they’ve just left, to provide fresh food for the cows, while protecting the land they’ve just grazed. By doing this, we’re ensuring our whenua doesn’t get worked too hard, while ensuring a steady supply of nutrient-rich kai for the herd.

It’s a balance – making sure they’re well fed while keeping the land in a state of regeneration. Like much of life on the farm, it’s a slow, thoughtful process. And sometimes, we’re faced with tough realities. Unfortunately, we lost one calf in birth last week – a natural but sad part of working with animals. We do our best to look after each new arrival, but nature can be unpredictable.

While it’s not always easy managing weather fluctuations, invasive species, and keeping up with the needs of our growing herd, we believe that with careful planning and respect for the land, we can create a system that supports both our animals and the whenua. What this results in is restored biodiversity, a healthy ecosystem, and ultimately nutritious meat products that are produced with care, in alignment with nature.

Ngā mihi to our crew for their mahi out on the land – and to the calves, for reminding us of the beauty in new beginnings 🧡

You might have noticed if you drive over the one lane bridge, that we’ve done a whole lot of planting along the Mangaroa River bank and next to the road 🌿🌳

You might notice our garden is looking a bit more wild than it used to, and we’re pretty stoked about that. Our Mangaroa Market Garden is making a shift towards a permaculture approach, where every bit of "mess" is actually part of a natural cycle – turning waste into resources. This enables us to work more efficiently, while feeding the soil and increasing the nutritional quality of the kai we grow.

We’ve been returning mulch to the soil, which breaks down and adds valuable nutrients. This mulch includes silage—cut grass from local farms—which helps keep the soil healthy, feeding the worms and microbes that create a thriving ecosystem. It also protects the soil from erosion, compaction, and the elements, all while helping us step away from using plastic ground cover.

We’re also introducing more flowers to the gardens, bringing in biodiversity and encouraging companion planting. With more flowers come more pollinators and predatory insects to help control pests naturally, creating a harmonious balance.

This approach makes it easier on our garden team and keeps us in sync with nature—feeding the soil, supporting the plants, and letting everything thrive as it was meant to.

As Aotearoa considers its agricultural future, it seems that genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are finally about to enter our soils. Up until now, GMO’s and gene editing have been banned in New Zealand. Mangaroa Farms shares a range of reasons why GMO's could be a problem for NZ

As we look towards the future of Mangaroa Farms, we want to take a moment to honour someone who has been an integral part of our journey—Jules Matthews

Mangaroa Farms will be featured on Country Calendar tomorrow night, New Zealand’s longest running and highest-rated television series, celebrating rural life and land. Country Calendar is an iconic institution, so it feels like we’re getting our five minutes of fame.

I haven’t seen the episode yet, but first and foremost, I hope it portrays the farm transformation that Jules Matthews led in her three years as the Mangaroa farm manager. Starting with a more conventional dairy block and some worn down infrastructure, Jules brought in a regenerative agriculture lens and playbook - with a focus on soil, water, and living systems - and has helped Mangaroa / Whitemans Valley establish a thriving local food hub, with robust market gardens, a Kete Kai farm shop, healthy and delicious cows and sheep, significant riparian restoration, and much greater community resilience. 
Watching this transformation gives me hope that we can quickly evolve agriculture and build bioregional food systems, especially with the right mindsets, gumption, and bit of luck.