‘Fantastic pork’ from Foxton farm supreme winner
Hard-working team dedicated to animals’ welfare
Foxton farmer Jim Mather takes great pride in “growing fantastic animals” but he was still surprised to find a ham from one of his pigs had won the supreme award in the 2022 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards.
Auckland’s Westmere Butchery won New Zealand’s best ham award for their bone-in leg ham, but a journey back along the supply chain to discover the provenance of the champion ham leads to Mather’s family farm.
“We know it’s fantastic pork — because our pigs want for nothing,” he says.
“But you don’t usually get a lot of validation for your product as a farmer.
“We really appreciate that the winner made a point of making sure we knew it was one of ours — we’re absolutely delighted.”
Mather employs five full-time staff and says they are critical to the comfort and welfare of the pigs and the quality of the pork.
“They are so hard-working and dedicated to the welfare of the animals, we have a great team who are very skilled and experienced at what they do.
“Winning the supreme award is a real feather in their caps.”
NZPork chief executive Brent Kleiss was quick to celebrate the local nature of this success story.
“Given the challenging few years most primary industries have been experiencing, we think Kiwis will agree there’s no better time to support local farmers — and what a fantastic example of local this is.
“It was produced with care in Foxton, processed by Cabernet Foods in Carterton and crafted into a truly delicious ham by an award-winning butchery in Auckland.”
Ham is undoubtedly a Christmas centrepiece favourite, being voted the most popular protein in last year’s Great Kiwi Christmas Survey, an annual poll run by Retail Meat New Zealand.
“We know that New Zealanders recognise the quality of locally produced food, our farmers and producers are the best in the world,” Kleiss says.
“So to support local, people should look for the PigCare label on pack or check the country of origin labelling to ensure what you’re getting is only great New Zealand pork.”
Farmland Foods in Bulls won a silver medal in the ham — bone in category.
They are so hard-working and dedicated to the welfare of the animals, we have a great team who are very skilled and experienced at what they do. Jim Mather