Red meat rebound
The red meat sector is poised for a strong rebound this season, with export receipts forecast to top $10 billion and farm profitability to almost double.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen challenged meat companies at its annual meeting in Wanaka this month. “Farmers want to hear for themselves the gains made by companies in the procurement and market areas; not in PR speak, but real numbers of real gains making a dollar difference to returns to farmers.” Rural News put this to the four big meat companies and a couple of others. Here are their responses.
ANZCO FOODS puts producer groups at the top of its list of procurement and marketing initiatives making a dollar difference to returns to farmers.
ANZCO operates (and has done for many years) a number of specific farmer producer groups strongly aligned with work that will ultimately be done as part of the ‘Collaboration for Sustainable Growth’ PGP scheme. The producer groups focus on:
Continuous improvement: collectively, the producer groups achieve continuous improvement through recording best practices, business development projects, taste testing, benchmarking and collective learning. Producers also receive feedback from ANZCO and its customers, ensuring a strong market focus is maintained.
Communication: through working together to understand each other’s strengths and challenges, individual producer groups can network and develop in this environment.
Customer interaction: members appreciate the chance to spend time with customers and hear first-hand what is happening in the market place and what flow-on effect is likely in New Zealand. Equally, producers are able to let the customer know what is influencing decisions made within the farmgate.
Critical to the success of the groups has been the producer group committees, made up of a combination of producers and company personnel, set up to ensure producers are involved in decision making on developments of the producer group direction.
A testament to the success of our producer groups are the long term partnerships between ANZCO and UK supermarket chain Waitrose, and Japanese restaurant chain Aleph, for which dedicated producer groups have continued to grow in the 12 years they have been in place.
Market Gains
ANZCO’s Foodplus Programme
In addition to its contribution of $1.3 million to the ‘Collaboration for Sustainable Growth’ which focuses on activity ‘behind the farmgate’, ANZCO has also committed $43.5 million to a second PGP programme which will be jointly funded by the Government – Foodplus, focussed on innovation beyond the farmgate.
Foodplus will focus on identifying opportunities to create new products, with particular concentration on parts of the beef carcass that currently generates less value. The programme’s goal is to reposition the market’s traditional and narrow perception of meat products through the development of novel, sustainable, value added products in food, ingredients and healthcare.
Development of niche lamb brands
An example of market area gains has been the launch by ANZCO and its market partners of two niche lamb brands into Europe and the UK respectively within the last 18 months which link specific customers and groups of producers while extending the market reach of New Zealand lamb.
OPINION: Ministry for Primary Industries' situation outlook for primary industries report (SOPI) makes impressive reading.
Sheep and beef farmers Matt and Kristin Churchward say using artificial intelligence (AI) to spread fertiliser on their sprawling 630ha farm is a game changer for their business.
Commercial fruit and vegetable growers are being encouraged to cast their votes in the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board directors' election.
A unique discovery by a Palmerston North science company, Biolumic, looks set to revolutionise the value and potential of ryegrass and the secret is the application of ultraviolet (UV) light.
A New Zealand company is redefining the global collagen game by turning New Zealand sheepskin into a world-class health product.
With further extreme weather on the way, ANZ Bank is encouraging farmers and business owners impacted by the recent extreme weather and flooding to seek support if they need it.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…