Tararua agriculture award win for retiring Wimbledon sheep breeder Brian Hales

A retiring Tararua sheep breeder selling the majority of his farm to carbon credits says it’s the right decision for the land.

Brian Hales, well known for his exotic sheep breeds and desire to future-proof genetics, recently sold 500 of his 600 hectares to carbon credits – pine trees that will never be harvested.

Brian Hales had an open-door policy on his farm for people to experience rural life. Photo / Michaela Gower

The Wimbledon resident spent a lifetime dedicating himself to the protection of rare and exotic breeds of sheep, and his decision to sell meant he would also give up farming his special sheep.

The fourth-generation sheep and beef farmer said he had only scraped the surface of the potential exotic sheep breeding had to offer and would be selling his flock in April.

The 75-year-old said his decision to sell land that had been in his family since 1883 didn’t come easy but he was “ready to go”.

The property was originally covered in bush and he had spent a great part of his life clearing the unproductive land.

“If I can save a beautiful piece of farmland in Central Hawke’s Bay from not going into carbon credits by allowing this place to go into carbon credits instead, then I am extremely happy.”

Last month he won the Agriculture Industry Champion Award at the Tararua Excellence in Farming Awards.

He was “quite surprised” at the win but felt it was a fitting end to his farming career.

He’d always “maintained an open-gate policy” and welcomed people to his property for exhibitions of exotic sheep shearing, open days for families to experience the farm environment, and felting workshops.

After the farm changed hands he planned to spend “two days thinking”, before making himself busy again.

The land behind Brian Hales has been cleared in the past and reverted to bush. Photo / Michaela Gower

He recalled many ups and downs from his career as a farmer and noted farming had become an increasingly hard industry.

“There have been many good times in my time farming, and there have been many bad times, and it is the economics of it that determines it.”

Co-chair of the Property Brokers Tararua Excellence in Farming Awards, Trudy Hales, said it was important to celebrate farmers, rural professionals, shepherds and farming businesses.

“He [Hales] has been an integral part of the Wimbledon community and wider farming sector for a very long time.”

One thing was certain – he would “never” dock another lamb.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.