Silver Fern Farms' board plans a 50:50 partnership with China's leading meat processor Shanghai Maling, a listed company based in Shanghai, owned 38% by Bright Food Group.

It's important to have at least one cooperative in the meat industry, says a senior lecturer in agribusiness management at Lincoln University.

A group of Silver Fern Farms shareholders are urging the board to set a date for the special general meeting so farmers can have their say, before the organisation slides towards foreign capital investment.

Lighter fleece weights due to a big North Island move to meat production from sheep is an influence on wool supply, says Malcolm Ching, Purelana manager, Wool Services International.

A meat industry stalwart says the rejection of a joint marketing model between processors and farmers is a missed opportunity.

Consolidating all the processors and the resultant gain of $10/lamb gain at the farmgate, as estimated by Meat Industry Excellence, is still not a “game changer” for sheep farmers, says Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dean Hamilton.

One of the world’s largest processors of sheep meat, Alliance Group Limited, aims to reduce carbon emissions by 3,300 tonnes over the next three years.

A war of words has broken out between the Meat Industry Excellence group (MIE) and Alliance Group over the former’s consultation with the meat co-op during its work on proposals for meat industry reform.

The Meat Industry Excellence group (MIE) says historic cultural antagonism between the two cooperatives is one of the main reasons the meat industry is going down the gurgler.

Your canine crusader will be interested to see whether anything new comes out of the much-hyped MIE report due to be publicly released today.