increase font size
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."
Alliance Group has secured greater access for chilled beef exports into China following approval of its Levin and Mataura plants to supply that market. With its first load of beef from Levin clearing Chinese customs in early January and a shipment from Mataura recently arriving in China, journalist Leo Argent talked to Alliance general manager safety and processing Wayne Shaw.
Alliance Group has secured greater access for chilled beef exports to China, following approval for two of its processing plants to supply the market.
Alliance Group says it has secured greater access for chilled beef exports to China, following the approval for two of its processing plants to supply the market.
There's been a dramatic and larger than expected drop in the number of lambs produced in New Zealand.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) says recent criticism from the UK’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding New Zealand’s animal welfare standards are unfounded.
Commodity prices and interest rates play a huge role in shaping farmer confidence, but these factors are beyond their control, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
DairyNZ is supporting a proposed new learning model for apprenticeships and traineeships that would see training, education, and pastoral care delivered together to provide the best chance of success.
Two agritech companies have joined forces to help eliminate manual entry and save farmer time.
The recent squabble between the Cook Islands and NZ over their deal with China has added a new element of tension in the relationship between China and NZ.
The world is now amid potentially one of the most disruptive periods in world trade for a very long time.
Former Westland Milk boss Richard Wyeth is taking over as chief executive of Canterbury milk processor Synlait from May 19.
OPINION: Henry Dimbleby, author of the UK's Food Strategy, recently told the BBC: "Meat production is about 85% of our…
OPINION: For the last few weeks, we've witnessed a parade of complaints about New Zealand's school lunch program: 'It's arriving…
