"I was pleasantly shocked when Ken turned up at midnight, got me out of bed then showed me all the trophies," Steph said.
Winners of the 2015 Tararua Sheep and Beef Farmer of the Year competition, the Normans took over their deer property eight years ago.
"We did the figures," Steph said. "They were more profitable than sheep, but Ken had to get his velveting certificate - not just anyone can velvet.
"We had three weeks from scratch to learn about deer farming,"Ken said.
"We knew nothing about deer. We purchased two thirds of the deer off the previous owner and have since brought the numbers back to what they were. We keep improving genetics and always look for more good stags.
"Our big focus is on velvet with some raised to go to hunting blocks. We produce one and a half tonnes of velvet annually with 620 tonne being produced New Zealand wide. There are very few deer farms left in the Tararua district now."
The Normans run about 35 per cent deer on their property with the balance split between bulls and sheep.
When asked about the amount of rain recently, Ken said the deer need sun to get good weight out of velvet. The previous month 300mm of rain was recorded on the farm.
"With the process of entering and winning the Tararua Sheep & Beef Farmer of the year competition, it gave us a lot of insight and made us look into things in a lot more detail.
It meant having the knowledge and confidence behind you to answer for the judging.
"Good farming practice has meant intensive work on measuring, monitoring and trial work. The biggest thing was learning how to present ourselves to judges, it was a big eye-opener."
The Tararua Farmer of the Year 2017 competition entries are opening shortly.
