Our Way of Life /
North Canterbury’s Andy Fox is farming with the future in mind
In the rolling hills of the Hurunui District, Foxdown is a farm where the past and the
present are honoured in such a way that the best of modern farming practice and the
values of past generations sit comfortably side by side.
a 1600-hectare farm, has been in the Fox family for 143 years, the land passed from generation to generation, along with a proud respect for family history and the desire to do the best now for generations to come. Andy Fox currently farms the property with his wife Kath, who works as a lawyer in Christchurch, commuting from their home in the Scargill Valley.
Rather than seeing himself as a landowner, Andy considers himself more of a custodian. ‘I see that I’ve got the use of this property for my lifetime. I’ve never got the ability to sell it, but I want to hand it on in a better condition, as my father did from his father, so that the next generation can carry on.’
That future-proofing attitude sees Andy practising diligent pasture management and weed control. Maintenance and repairs on the property are undertaken at the highest level, to stand the test of time. ‘All the gates here swing and I kind of pride myself on it,’ Andy says. ‘ We’ve got a policy that as soon as we see a broken bottom wire, it’s got to be fixed within the next week, rather than six months later after a whole lot of sheep have got into the next paddock and you have to draft.’
This efficiency extends to farm labour, with Foxdown employing a full-time farm manager, with casual staff to fill in the gaps in busy times. The farm itself only owns one tractor, a 40-year-old front end loader, as all farm operations are contracted out. This frees Andy up for the numerous community and agricultural boards and committees he is involved in, including the board of the local Waikari
Health Centre, as well Chair of the North Canterbury Farmers Charitable Trust. He also sits as Chair of the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand (WRONZ), an organisation aimed at promoting and funding the research and development of innovative wool products, especially for coarser wools which currently have notoriously poor returns for farmers.
Andy’s passion for farming and community has seen him play a critical part in developing positive strategies when the district falls on hard times. As a member of the Hurunui Drought Committee (now known as Hurunui Adverse Events), Andy provided his Foxdown event venue, a large building with a heritage facade that doubles as a showroom for his classic car collection, as a place to hold relief events for stressed farmers during the extreme drought. The Rural Recharge Events were provided for free with the help of generous sponsorship, giving farmers a chance to take a break from the pressures of farming in the intense and challenging conditions, enjoy quality entertainment and relax and connect.
The venue also hosts the occasional wedding, with Andy holding a licence as a marriage celebrant. ‘We’ve got a 300-square-metre shed and it’s sort of set up quite nicely and it’s easy. It houses the cars, and then when we have a function, we just drive them out and people set up for weddings. As well as our own, we’ve had three or four weddings, and I’ve got another one booked. It’s not something we planned to do, it just morphed into that.’
Andy and Kath are also adding on-farm accommodation in the form of a Canopy Camping luxury off-grid hut, with stunning views over the valley and beyond. The hut will be a perfect glamping experience for couples after their wedding reception on the farm, visiting tourists or those simply wishing for a unique escape from city life without compromising on modern conveniences.
Foxdown also boasts a four-hour walking track to Mount Alexander, which is enjoyed by around 200 walkers a year. Andy sees it as having the added benefit of helping those