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Carey Pawson-Edwards and the Caberfeidh Angus Beef Project

A South Canterbury stock manager won a Rabobank management project award for rethinking how Angus beef is finished on a large New Zealand farm.

Who is Carey Pawson-Edwards?

Carey Pawson-Edwards is a stock manager based in South Canterbury, New Zealand. He works at Caberfeidh Station in the Hakataramea Valley, part of Lone Star Farms, and he won the Rabobank Management Project Award, according to an Otago Daily Times report on the Canterbury farming awards.

He is a living person, so this profile covers only his public professional record. It is marked thin because one news report is the main source, and the entry adds sourced background on his employer and the award.

What is Caberfeidh Station?

Caberfeidh is a large-scale breeding and finishing property in the Hakataramea Valley. It is one of six South Island farms in Lone Star Farms.

The same report says the group covers about 6,000 hectares, winters 32,000 stock units, and typically finishes 30,000 lambs and 1,000 cattle each season. Income comes mainly from Lumina lamb, Angus beef, bull beef and wool, so cattle are one part of a sheep-heavy business.

What did Pawson-Edwards do for the Rabobank award?

The Rabobank Management Project Award is open to emerging primary producers in New Zealand and Australia. He was chosen from graduates of Rabobank's Farm Managers Programme, and the award was presented in Victoria, Australia.

His project aims to future-proof Caberfeidh's beef system and explore dairy-beef integration on the farm. It focuses on a traditional Angus beef finishing system, which the report says faces rising costs and environmental and supply chain pressures.

How does the project test a new system?

The project description says the work uses scenario modelling, greenhouse gas analysis and on-farm trials to compare productivity, profitability and environmental performance. The goal is a lower-risk finishing system that fits the farm's feed curve and complements the Lumina Lamb program.

It also aims to reduce emissions per kilogram and support low-carbon beef markets. The report describes goals and methods, not final results, so no outcomes are claimed here.

The Key to His Success

The record points to training, hands-on responsibility and a project grounded in the farm's own numbers. It does not point to any single breakthrough, and the work was still under way when the report was written.

Readers curious about Angus beef production can browse the ranching section on farm.FM, including a farm.FM story on finishing Angus cattle.

  • He built a base in a six-year agricultural cadet programme at Coleridge Downs, Rakaia Gorge.
  • He completed Rabobank's Farm Managers Programme, which led to the award.
  • He tied the project to a real farm and its feed curve instead of a theory.
  • He measured economics and emissions together, using modelling and trials.
  • He manages a team of nine staff at Caberfeidh, as reported.

Career path and experience

Before Caberfeidh he spent six years in the agricultural cadet programme at Coleridge Downs, Rakaia Gorge. At the time of the report he had worked at Caberfeidh for about four years.

He and Grace Pettit of Tararua also represented New Zealand in the Global Sheep Forum Next Generation program in Adelaide the previous July. That reflects the sheep side of the Lone Star operation.

Why beef and dairy integration matters

Dairy-beef integration links beef finishing with dairy farming. The Caberfeidh project explores it as an option for a farm with a traditional Angus finishing system.

Rising costs and environmental pressure are the reasons the report gives for looking at new systems. Whether the approach works at Caberfeidh will depend on trial results that were not published in the article.

Timeline

  1. Earlier yearsSix years in the agricultural cadet programme at Coleridge Downs, Rakaia Gorge
  2. About four years before the reportJoins Caberfeidh Station
  3. Report yearCompletes the Rabobank Farm Managers Programme project on Caberfeidh beef finishing
  4. Previous JulyRepresents New Zealand in the Global Sheep Forum Next Generation program, Adelaide
  5. Report yearWins Rabobank Management Project Award, presented in Victoria, Australia

Frequently asked questions

Who is Carey Pawson-Edwards?

Carey Pawson-Edwards is a stock manager at Caberfeidh Station in South Canterbury, New Zealand, part of Lone Star Farms, and a winner of the Rabobank Management Project Award.

What is Caberfeidh Station?

Caberfeidh is a large breeding and finishing property in the Hakataramea Valley and one of six South Island farms in Lone Star Farms.

What was his Rabobank award project about?

It looked at future-proofing Caberfeidh's Angus beef finishing system and exploring dairy-beef integration, using modelling, greenhouse gas analysis and on-farm trials.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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