Stonyhurst

About us

We are a seventh generation family owned and run farm located in North Canterbury, New Zealand. Stonyhurst was first settled by Sir Charles Clifford in 1850 and is now farmed by his decedents the Douglas-Cliffords.

The property runs sheep, beef cattle and deer. All livestock are bred, and finished, on grass pastures within Stonyhurst's rotational grazing system. All livestock are electronically tagged (EID). This has allowed Stonyhurst to build a valuable database of information about individual animals dating as far back as 2008.

Stonyhurst sheep are fine to mid-micron; stabilized half breeds (historically of Merino crossed with the long-woolled Lincoln).

SX FINE WOOL - Stonyhurst hosts the nucleus flock of the developing sheep breed Southern Cross. A joint venture of six sheep breeders, it is based on Merino or ¾ Merino ewes. SX FINE WOOL objectives are: Footrot resistance, Fine wool of 21 to 23 microns, up to 130-140% lamb weaning, Fleece weights of 4kg and Lamb weights up to 20kg CW. For more information view Sheep & Wool.

At Stonyhurst we are are proud of what our forefathers have achieved. The farm boasts over 200ha of native bush, which is fenced and has been allowed to regenerate for several decades. We want to leave our land in better condition than we found it. We have in place an on-going planting and protection programme that will ensure our land will continue to improve for future generations.

In 2017 Stonyhurst won the Ballance Farm Environment Awards supreme award for Canterbury. The farm has featured on Television New Zealand's iconic series 'Country Calendar' in October 2018 and also on 'Rural Delivery'. To view either episode head to our Media page.