The Birth of BlackSheep Supplies
In 2012 we were inundated by complaints of the ever-increasing on-farm cost from fellow farmers. We found the premium we pay for some on-farm products were unjustifiable. Our mission then was to find quality products at a fair price for fellow farmers to reduce on-farm cost, which would be even more critical to farmers now during the current turmoil in the industry.
From that point, BlackSheep Supplies Ltd was born. We immediately started investigating what products could be our candidates to achieve our mission. The first item that stood out was Wet Weather Gear.
Our Cause
We strongly believe in giving back to the community. Being born and bred on a dairy farm here in NZ, we understand how important the role local communities plays in our lives especially in rural areas – it keeps us connected and gives us a sense of belonging. When the going gets tough, the local communities through schools and clubs are a place of support. Yet at the same time we know its always a struggle to get funding for these communities, clubs and schools. This is where we want to make a difference…
Our cause is to support local clubs and schools to make the entire community stronger. we are here to sponsor local clubs and schools by donating a large portion of the profit. So rather than paying sales people commission, we work with your club/school to distribute products directly to members in order to keep the cost down as much as possible for the farm, while donating to community clubs and schools for each purchase through that club or school. We are very proud of supporting our local rural communities’ nationwide.
Quality Assurance
We designed the garment in the Waikato based on the input from various farmers around the country. We then went overseas many times to find the best material, components and manufacturers.
The BlackSheep Supplies wet weather gear has gone through several cycles of rigorous testing and redesign over the past 3 years.
In each cycle, we trialled different fabrics and construction types on dairy, sheep and beef farmers throughout the North and South Islands, seeking their feedback and then altering the design and retesting – more feedback, more changes. Together with our farmers who conducted testing, we finally built a product range that everyone is happy with based on our unique NZ weather conditions.