The Gullies

Big changes have taken place in the 10 years since Rural Delivery visited Morrison Farming (near Marton) when brothers Richard and William were farming together. Richard and his wife Laura, have now purchased 250 hectares from the wider Morrison family farming operation and set up The Gullies, where they breed sheep (Wiltshire and a composite breed) as well as Hereford cattle.

They have continued their involvement in a number of primary industry bodies, and offering visitor accommodation. They have more recently begun an artist in residence programme to foster connections between art and agriculture.  

The Gullies focus is on ethical livestock genetics, sustainable farming, and producing premium red meat with minimal environmental impact. Richard’s approach is a combination of modern genetic science with low-intervention farming with the aim to breed livestock that are fertile, resilient, efficient, and suited to New Zealand conditions. He is using genetics to improve a number of selected traits, including disease resistance, parasite tolerance, growth rates, survivability, carcass quality, and animal performance.

The 270ha farm uses recognised genetic evaluation systems such as Sheep Improvement Limited (SIL) and Breedplan to validate livestock performance against national standards, with input also coming from Bioeconomy Science Institute, AgResearch.

“Our aim is to produce sustainable, high-value red meat while enhancing the land for future generations,” Richard says. His low-intervention farming philosophy reduces the need for synthetic additives and stressful animal treatments, including less shearing, dagging and drenching, as well as eliminating flystrike.

Richard’s sheep operation centres on the Wiltshire breed, known for self-shedding wool, fertility, growth, carcass quality, and tolerance to worms and facial eczema. He also breeds a composite sheep which, likewise, is designed for efficiency.

“I've got New Zealand's original flock of Wiltshires here which I’ve always tried to maintain as a pure Wiltshire flock but I was always worried that their performance might stagnate compared to the productive gains the rest of the New Zealand sheep were making, so this is why we have developed our low input composite breed that runs alongside the Wiltshire and, essentially, connects our Wiltshires to the wider New Zealand sheep flock.”

The Gullies’ Wiltshires came into New Zealand in 1972 and Richard’s father and grandfather purchased the entire flock in 1982. “I’ve grown up with Wiltshires, so it’s nice to carry that on – and also nice that the industry’s pivoting towards shedding and low input sheep, and that we've got the flock ready to service the needs of the industry.” 

For the past three years The Gullies has put forward a ram for the Beef + Lamb progeny trial and this year (2026) one of its rams has been selected.

Richard stands back from overtly marketing The Gullies sheep. “My strength as a breeder is around the on-farm stuff and the data collection and trying to push the genetics forward. When you're a one-man band, you can't do it all.” To date, he has taken the approach of word of mouth with farmers coming back for more year after year, however, he is now planning the inaugural on-farm ram auction next year (2027). 

The Burbank Herefords are an important part of The Gullies business. Named after the original Morrison farm next door to The Gullies which has been in the family since the late 1800s, they help to support the sheep by controlling the rough feed and are bred for soundness, calm temperament, low birth weights, and ease of calving making them popular with dairy farmers, as well as being sold for beef. 

Laura, also from a farming background, has been involved in a range of organisations in the wider agricultural sector including Federated Farmers and Rural Women.

She sees the importance of connecting the general public with farming and conversations around sustainability and food systems and has directed the transformation of an unused farm cottage into a successful farm-stay accommodation business that attracts a wide variety of guests, including parents visiting nearby boarding schools, contractors, remote workers, and people seeking a rural retreat.  

Alongside the visitor accommodation business Laura, who studied art history, has established The Gullies Artist Residency to connect artists and farmers, encouraging dialogue between agriculture and the arts. “I see the residency as a way to challenge perceptions, foster creativity, and document evolving conversations around farming and land use in New Zealand,” she says.

The residency has hosted several artists who make good use of the artist’s studio adjacent to the cottage, including Caroline McQuarrie, whose resulting work explores farming, land use, feminism, and rural identity through photography, weaving and textile art.

Richard and Laura are also avid supporters of a range of environmental and social initiatives including Meat the Need, and Trees that Count, encouraging guests to help plant trees on the farm during their stay.

www.thegullies.nz