Fossil Creek Angus

In the foothills of North Otago, Fossil Creek Angus runs an effective farming operation focused on breeding strong, adaptable Angus bulls for farmers across New Zealand. Built on practical science, hard work, and family, the farm has grown into one of the largest beef studs in the South Island. Jane and Blair Smith shared how they’ve combined resilience, sustainability, and data-driven decisions to keep their herd and business thriving.

Our morning at Fossil Creek Angus stud started on a high note. A clear sunrise highlighted stunning vistas from the nearby mountains to the sea, with stock grazing peacefully on the rolling terrain. Inland from Oamaru, the Kakanui Ranges frame the 1600-hectare high-altitude farm to the west, with a faultless ocean view to the east. We were greeted by Jane, Blair and their three children, Charlotte, 18, Henry, 16, and George, 13, who, alongside key farm staff Ben Paton and Millie Williams, help keep the farm at its best. Fossil Creek Angus runs 360 stud cows and sells 80 Angus bulls at auction annually. Alongside the beef stud, the farm is also home to a commercial sheep operation. The Newhaven Perendale stud breeds and sells Perendale, Romdale and Perendale-Texel rams to farms throughout New Zealand. The Smiths’ farming operation also extends beyond Kiwi shores, with a small stud in Victoria, Australia.

The Smiths were running a sizeable commercial beef herd when they were approached 10 years ago by the previous owners of Fossil Creek Angus, the late Neil Sanderson and his wife Rose. “We were a bull client of Neil and Rose, and they wanted to expand the stud and have a succession plan in place. As it turns out, we were their succession plan,” Jane explained.

“It’s been a fantastic decade. Over that time, the Fossil Creek Angus stud has grown markedly to become one of the biggest Angus bull studs in the South Island. We’re really passionate about genetics. We have always been passionate about genetics in our sheep, so that was an easy transition to take on a stud in the beef sector. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the genetics coming through and the progress, not just in the stud, but on our clients’ farms and their herds throughout New Zealand.”

Fossil Creek Angus stud takes a data-driven approach to breeding to meet the demands of their altitudinous environment and a diverse client base. The team selects bulls and heifers for resilience, survival, calving ease, and carcass quality - all backed by continuous monitoring and DNA testing. “Our bulls get sold as rising two-year-olds; by then, we’ve done a lot of monitoring,” Jane said. “We’re trying to be everything to everyone, I guess, and that is where another challenge lies in a stud. But with the data available, the DNA testing, and all of the monitoring we do throughout the year, we put together a package within our programme to know we’re covering all those bases. Also, getting continual feedback from our clients throughout the year feeds into ensuring we produce the best product for them,” she continued.

“That information is the best insight possible, and our clients really embrace that.”

Farming in North Otago isn’t easy, but Jane and her team have learned to work with the land rather than against it. “We believe we have some easier country here topography-wise, and we go up to just under 700 metres above sea level,” Jane said. The region brings challenges like high winds, dry spells, and short growing seasons.

“We can sometimes get all our rainfall within about two to three months, and nothing for the rest of the time. We can get down to about 350mls of rain for the year and up to 800, and that’s the challenge, a sort of ‘feast or famine’ scenario. But it means we breed resilient animals that can move anywhere throughout the country and breed resilient genetics. We love that challenge.”

Fossil Creek Angus stud performs muscle scans, semen tests, IMF scans, and assesses weight gains in their stock. Jane said they source independent experts to help with assessments. “A big step up has been the use of genomics. So that’s DNA testing, essentially predicting how those genetics, or that bull in particular, will breed going forward. We put the monitoring together with the DNA testing, and it gives us, and our clients, an idea of how that bull will breed, so they can make a secure decision when choosing which bull to select at auction time. Our clients put a lot of homework into which bull they choose, using that data and bringing it together to make the best decision.” The 2025 auction will be held at 2pm on Tuesday, June 10th at Fossil Creek Angus farm.

Sustainability is central to Fossil Creek Angus’s operation. The Smiths have planted thousands of native trees and built 17 kilometres of fencing - most of which is through Goldpine - to protect both land and stock. “We’ve developed the hill block to a point where we’re not trying to make it do something it naturally wouldn’t do,” Jane said. This includes shelter planting to reduce wind erosion and careful gully protection.

“The fencing we’ve done is protecting areas we’ve planted out, the soil, and the stock, and also to subdivide the farm so it’s more productive,” she told us. “It’s doing at least two or three jobs for us. It’s not just a fence.”

Fossil Creek Angus stud is also all about the family. The kids help out with mustering, monitoring, weaning, and are important to operating the farm. “They’re involved in everything and all very hard-working and very tuned into the farm. While they’re crucially important to the farm, they’re also forging their own way in life as well,” Jane explained.

The Smiths have planned the farm for the long run. “We see ourselves as an intergenerational family. Whether it’s our kids who take over or someone else’s, we want to be farming for the long term. That’s making decisions now that are not just going to be good in five years’ time, but they’re going to be good in 50 years or even 100 years’ time,” she said. Jane’s parents David and Robyn Ruddenklau also had a long-term view, and put time and resources into making sure the farmed land stays in good shape.

Community is also key at Fossil Creek Angus. Jane told us about being involved in the local catchment group - the North Otago Sustainable Land Management Group - as well as sports groups through the kids’ schools and other hobbies. The farm also provides work experience to gateway students from local high schools.

Jane and Blair have their finger on the pulse of beef farming in New Zealand.

“New technology, plus that good old-fashioned stockmanship, ties together to make New Zealand’s beef farming future a really exciting one,” Jane said.

“In terms of our beef production, it’s extensive. It’s on hill country. It’s utilising areas of hill country that literally could not be used for anything else. We are turning pasture into protein and doing it in a really sustainable manner. And I think if you look at all of our markets here and overseas, we’ve got everything that they are looking for in terms of sustainability and productivity. We’re at the leading edge of making sure that we utilise all of the technology that’s available, including DNA testing, but we have that good old-fashioned stockmanship and we make sure that we breed an animal that is the right type of animal for your farming country.”

Fossil Creek Angus is a leader in beef production. With Jane, Blair, their family and the wider team’s ongoing commitment to quality, sustainability, and innovation, this stud farm is a rock solid example of producing premium beef responsibly.