JV brings powerful competitive edge - Dawn Meats
Dawn Meats chief executive Niall Browne says their joint venture with Alliance Group will create “a dynamic industry competitor”.
Alliance Group is showing farmers from the UK around its operations following encouraging sales at Sainsbury's over the crucial Christmas period.
Four farmers supplying UK retail giant Sainsbury's are visiting Alliance Group plants, farms and a leading research centre this week as part of the two-week exchange. They will be accompanied by representatives from Sainsbury's UK processors Randall Parker Foods and Dunbia Group.
Along with visits to supplier farms in Southland and Balclutha, the delegation will tour the Woodlands Research Centre where some of the Central Progeny Tests take place. Now funded by Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the tests are used to 'prove' the genetics of a ram by comparing how his progeny perform relative to progeny from other rams under the same conditions.
The cooperative's largest sheepmeat processing plant at Lorneville near Invercargill and the Pukeuri plant near Oamaru are on the itinerary, as are AbacusBio, the Dunedin-based company behind Alliance Group's innovative Hoofprint programme, and Port Otago.
Alliance Group is the major supplier of New Zealand lamb to Sainsbury's through its UK marketing company, New Zealand Farmers Ltd. The cooperative supplies up to 70% of Sainsbury's lamb.
Over the important five-week Christmas period, Sainsbury's leg sales were up 9% by value year on year.
Murray Brown, general manager of marketing at Alliance Group, said the visit was a good opportunity for Sainsbury's suppliers to see first-hand the processing of New Zealand sheepmeat before it is shipped to the UK.
"We enjoy a close partnership with Sainsbury's and this visit will enable their suppliers to gain a valuable understanding of our lamb production systems and our quality assurance programmes," says Brown.
"The timing is also fitting given that we have just completed one of our key selling periods for quality in-season chilled lamb to the UK where there were some encouraging sales figures."
The company was jointly hosting the delegation with processor AFFCO, said Mr Brown.
"This reflects our commitment to collaborating with other companies in the industry in line with the Red Meat Sector Strategy report."
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
Rural retailer Farmlands has reported a return to profitability, something the co-operative says shows clear progress in the second year of its five-year strategy.

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