McIvor moving to OSPRI
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive for the past eight years, Sam McIvor is heading for new pastures at Ospri, which runs NZ’s integrated animal disease management and traceability service.
Sheep and beef farmers have vastly improved their productivity since the 1990s, says Beef + Lamb NZ’s chief executive Sam McIvor.
He told the recent Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium (PGgRc) conference that this was best illustrated by increased lambing percentages – up from 100% to a 125% average.
“Additionally, we are achieving higher lamb weights sold per ewe wintered, increasing by 93% -- remarkable,” he says.
Sheep and beef farmers are using far less resources, maintaining the amount of meat produced and exported (over 90% of the sheepmeat produced is exported) from half the number of sheep.
“And it’s been achieved on 23% less land as conversions to dairy have occurred and hill country has been retired into native bush reserves,” he adds.
At least 600% of new QE2 covenants are occurring on sheep and beef farms; not only has the land-use footprint reduced, so have the greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s been calculated that since 1990, driven by genetic and productivity gains, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 19% on sheep and beef farms.
“Sheep and beef emissions are 19% below what they were in 1990. In emissions intensity (kg of CO2 equivalent per kg of product) sheep have improved 23.1% and beef 19.7% -- about 1% per year. If the current rate of emissions reduction continues, sheep and beef will just make the 30% below 2005 mark, and will also hit the 50 by 50 mark,” he says.
McIvor says while the global meat industry is being challenged on its environmental/sustainability footprint, NZ has a strong argument to mount on its production methods. At least 70% of the land farmed by sheep and beef is hill country, producing food on land that would otherwise unused.
McIvor says while the UK remains an important market for NZ, a carcase these days makes 42 different cuts, exported to 100 countries.
“In the 1960s over 90% was sold as frozen carcases; today 18% is chilled cuts and boneless product and frozen carcases make up only 5% of our trade. This has been a great effort by our processors and exporters, meeting the demands of consumers in many different countries.”
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.