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Learning From Each Other - Lyndon Matthews on Evolving Farming Systems

  • 2 days ago
  • 2 min read

At the Mountain River Community Meeting in Dunsandel on 17 March, Lyndon Matthews of Puketira Deer shared a practical and honest perspective on the journey his family has been on over the past 30 years.



Speaking farmer to farmer, Lyndon reflected on the gradual shift from industrial agriculture toward a more biological and resilient farming system - one built through experience, observation, and plenty of lessons along the way.


Lyndon challenged the room to think about where future venison value is heading, and whether farming systems are evolving to meet changing market expectations around naturally produced, nutritious, and environmentally responsible food.


Rather than talking in slogans or silver bullets, Lyndon focused on practical realities. He spoke about reducing cultivation, sowing pastures directly, using animals to do more of the work, and building pastures that last longer and perform better over time. He noted that some of their most profitable pastures are now more than 30 years old - not because of high inputs, but because they require very little ongoing cost or intervention.




A key theme throughout his presentation was resilience.


For Puketira Deer, resilience means building a farming system that can better handle the variability of North Canterbury conditions - especially moisture stress and seasonal uncertainty. Lyndon explained that their approach has not been about making sudden changes, but about taking small steps, learning what works in their own context, and building from there.


He also spoke openly about the Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) programme and the value of measuring change over time rather than treating regenerative farming as a “tick box” exercise. Importantly, he reframed the conversation away from simply proving environmental credentials, instead focusing on producing food that is genuinely good for human health while also improving the land.


One of the strongest messages from Lyndon’s talk was the importance of farmers learning from other farmers.

Every farm is different. Every context is different. And gatherings like the Mountain River Community meetings create opportunities to share practical experiences, successes, failures, and observations from the paddock.

As Lyndon put it, “We can all learn from each other.”


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