40,000 meals donated as NZFN marks fifth anniversary
The New Zealand Food Network's (NZFN) fifth birthday celebrations have been boosted by a whopping five tonne meat donation from meat processor ANZCO.
Meat processor and exporter ANZCO Foods has joined other NZ agri-sector businesses and reported a record net profit of $75m for the 2021 year.
The company says it successfully navigated the challenges of the year - including ongoing impacts of labour shortages and supply chain disruptions - to post more than twice the profit of 2020 ($35.7m) on turnover of $1.64b.
"The successful 2021 result builds on the previous two years' results with a focus on core business activities and increased investment in business systems and data analysis to ensure good decision making," says chief executive Peter Conley.
"It is important to recognise the efforts of our people who have worked incredibly hard in challenging times to deliver a strong performance across the ANZCO Foods business."
Conley says the result also reflects the company's continued focus on consumer needs and customer relationships in key markets and being able to navigate supply chain pressures occurring as a result of Covid-19.
"In addition, ANZCO Foods' focus on revenue, yields, and value-add performance, has enabled the payment of consistently high farm-gate returns during the last three years," he adds.
Conley says the company has a clear strategy to derive more value from the livestock it processes.
"This priority continues to differentiate ANZCO Foods, with our manufacturing and healthcare operations contributing strongly to the increased revenue and net profit reported for 2021."
He says the recent acquisition of the global biotechnological business Moregate Biotech, complements ANZCO's existing business Bovogen Biologicals and builds the company's capacity in the healthcare industry.
"This capability will continue to deliver value-add opportunities for ANZCO Foods."
Conley adds that with the 2022 year well underway, demand remains strong for its products, but challenges remain.
"ANZCO Foods remains committed to doing all we can to help New Zealand's recovery from Covid-19 by continuing to deliver strong returns and ensure the red meat sector remains in good heart."
2021 At A Glance
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.

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