Kinrae means ‘The low hill going down to the flats’ and given the geography of the land it is a most appropriate name.

In the late 1800’s a young man called Bill Baird saw an advertisement for farm labourers in New Zealand. Coming from generations of experienced farmers in Scotland Bill decided to set off for a new life and to make his mark on the world. Bill’s move and hard work is where it all began. The existing property at Kinrae still includes the second block of land he owned in New Zealand.

Bill’s daughter married Jim Campbell and together they farmed Kinrae from 1946 through to 1967 when their son Robin joined the partnership. In 1972 the operation passed to Lynley and Robin Campbell and in 2005 Bronwyn and Grant took over.

The property has mostly been given to sheep production, though from the 1960’s – 70’s and again under Bronwyn and Grant’s management, cereal cropping was added to the mix.

In the early 1980’s with the increase in meat and wool production Lynley and Robin began to consider what the next step might be. In 1984, they established the Kinrae Stud on a base of NZ Romney Development Group stock. In 1992, the TEFRom (½ Romney, ¼ Texel, ¼ East Fresian) composite was developed after Robin saw a market that demanded high, lean growth rates, greater carcass weights and larger muscle areas.

Grant and Bronwyn Campbell currently run the operation at Kinrae and are a true Southland born and bred couple who both grew up on family farms. They have two sons, Navarre and Travis.

With over 99 years’ experience, we at Kinrae strongly believe that great things take time as we look toward working with farmers in the future to efficiently and sustainably achieve our goals.