Behind the Business - Hurunui Omegga
1. Timo, Jonno, Lewis and Pippa Christophersen.
2. Timo Christophersen in the new 3,000 hen mobile shed, which provides the hens with access to fresh grass every day.
New businesses require resilience and Timo and Jonna Christophersen have it in bucketloads.
The Hawarden farmers and business owners have weathered more than their fair share of storms. Not only have they started a business in a new country, but they have pioneered a unique market for New Zealand — and weathered Covid.
On the way, they also turned down a tempting offer to partner with an established New Zealand farming company in order to retain full ownership of their brand.
Under their label Hurunui Omegga, the Christophersen’s produce New Zealand’s first free-range Omega-3 eggs from their 105-hectare farm in Hawarden, selling direct to restaurants, supermarkets and the public all over New Zealand. This year they launched Hurunui Farms, supplying grass-fed Angus beef reared on farm or sourced from neighbouring farms direct via courier to customers and to some independent retailers.
Timo and Jonna are excited about the future but acknowledge it’s been a hard road taking on financial risks, working long hours, marketing their products themselves and raising their two children.
Timo arrived in New Zealand from Germany for a six-month working holiday on a dairy farm. “My parents have a farm in Germany and I first studied engineering and then agriculture — my parents said I must get something real behind me first.”
On arrival in New Zealand, Timo was plunged into farm managerial responsibilities, working full-time, due to tragic circumstances on the farm. After a brief visit home, he was back in New Zealand, bringing Jonna to join him share-milking in Culverden
“I was working on a dairy farm when I built our first mobile shed to house 200 hens that could be mechanically moved with the tractor using hydraulics. Portable sheds are big in Europe – the hens always have fresh grass and by not staying on one ground, there is less risk of disease.”
Feeding the hens extra linseed from flax boosts higher than normal omega-3 levels in the eggs. “Normal free-range eggs have around 90 to 100mg of omega-3 fatty acids per 100 grams of egg, whereas our eggs deliver 300 to 400mg of omega-3 fatty acids per 100 grams of egg.”
In 2020 the couple expanded, ordering their first large portable shed from the Netherlands to house 3,000 hens. A second order for another large shed followed last year before disaster struck.
“We had bought 3,000 new birds for the new shed but delivery of the shed was delayed twice due to Covid, so we had to try sell all 3,000 birds. For four months we were non-productive. So now we think, the worst has happened, we can only look forwards.”
Forward planning is intrinsic to the Chrisophersens. Future plans include investing in contingency water tanks, installing solar panels on the shed roofs, expanding their current feed crops and creating a destination shop for their products. They are also looking how they can give back to the Hurunui community through a proposed planting programme with Hurunui Natives and supporting Hurunui honey businesses.
