Downlands Deer and Transport
The Growth of Downlands Deer and Transport
A family-run specialist transport firm that began more than 40 years ago during the height of the deer industry boom has grown and consolidated into one of the best-known general livestock transporters in the South and lower North Islands.
Managing director Kris Orange started working at Downlands Deer 25 years ago in the footsteps of his parents, who founded the company. He and a long-time business partner (and driver) Kevin Hurst now run the operation from a farm and yard near Geraldine in South Canterbury.
The business “started out almost by accident really”, Kris says. A crate built for our family’s deer on the back of a petrol D-Series Ford truck that could cart 25 hinds. “It certainly wasn’t state-of-the-art - and was a dinosaur compared to some of the other transport trucks getting around - but what we did have was a competent and caring driver for a developing industry.” This was in the mid-1980s in South Canterbury – a nexus of deer industry expansion.
“Many of the farms we were delivering deer into were still being set up, and often the last strand of netting, or the gate, got wired in place as we arrived. We helped build ramps, get deer in off the paddock, draft and even drench deer.” It was all part of the Downlands service, Kris says.
As the deer numbers grew, so did Downlands, which also bought Mainland Deer, Jeff Yule and more recently Otago Deer Transport. Truck and trailor capacity also increased over time, as did their quality and power.
The firm became well known for their care and attention for sire trophy stags which has since led Downlands to also transport stud bulls and stud rams – filling any gaps throughout the year and giving drivers some variety. Kris says you can’t under-estimate the value of their drivers. Not only is it essential that drivers understand livestock, but they also need to have a good rapport with people. “They really are the company ambassadors”.
While the care and attention to people and livestock have remained the same, there have been a number of changes over the past 25 years, explains Kris. Originally, just serving the regional area around South Canterbury, they now move Inter-island on a weekly basis.
Developments in technology have also expanded along with the company’s operations – where they used to rely on the Shell Road Map and phone directions, “now we have GPS satellite navigation,” says Kris. And where communication options were a landline and a fax machine, “now we use all means”.
Trucking horsepower has increased significantly. One of the original trucks was 160 HP, now a 500 HP vehicle is common. Carrying capacity has also grown, the original unit carried 30 deer. Now with H units, Downlands can shift around 160 animals at a time. In the beginning, they were transporting mainly red deer, now they transport a variety of classes of stock such as stud bulls, stud rams, and sire stags, as well as commercial cattle, deer & sheep. There has also been a shift in the size of animals through selective breeding. Kris says adult hinds used to average around 85-90kg but now these can weigh up to 120-135kgs.
“We have survived the ups and downs of farming over the last 40 years through innovation and diversification when times and the farming landscape change.”
Kris observes that many things have stayed the same over the years, mainly: customer focus, family values, doing the job right, recognizing that there are still only 24 hours in a day, employing the correct gear for the task at hand, employing drivers who are competent with a wide array of species, as “livestock can be difficult to deal with.”
One of the biggest challenges, Kris says, for their drivers on the road with a load of long-limbed animals on board, are other drivers who may not appreciate just how long it takes for a truck and trailer unit with a load of very valuable animals on board to either slow down or take evasive action, if necessary – and just how much distance a driver needs to keep between them and the vehicle ahead. The company has begun installing dashcams in their trucks to determine driver behaviour and responses in the event of any incident.
Kris has enormous admiration for his drivers. In 2024, they put on a get-together for drivers past and present to celebrate their 40-year milestone in the transport business. “These guys and girls have all given significant time and effort to initially put Downlands on the map and, from then on, keep us front and centre.”
A number of farming families have been with Downlands from the start, and they appreciate that. And, says Kris, “we want to continue providing them all with great service now and in the future. “