She's dreamin'!
OPINION: Your old mate suggests the demise of former Beef+Lamb NZ chair Andrew Morrison has done little to change that organisation’s poor understanding about how its farmers are really feeling.
Beef + Lamb NZ has the correct strategies in place to help the sector successfully navigate its way through the next couple of years, says chair Andrew Morrison.
“But it is going to require focus and there will be some hard decisions,” he warned.
“As an organisation, we are now trying to constantly look ahead at the challenges coming, do the research about those challenges and come up with strategies to influence the responses and outcomes to them.”
He claimed that BLNZ saw the potential rise of alternative proteins and released a major report last year… “before this new product and potential competition was on most NZer’s consciousness”.
“We are now doing research to understand the public’s perceptions of our sector, understand our environment footprint and measure our net carbon footprint.”
He says meat’s role in human diets is under scrutiny because of environmental and animal welfare concerns.
“But there is also growing demand for grass-fed, naturally raised beef and lamb which is what NZ produces. We are uniquely placed to capitalise on these growing trends and more strategically position our product in the market.”
Morrison says last year’s release of BLNZ’s environment strategy had been “invaluable” in engaging with the Government and other stakeholders about potential policy changes with respect to climate change, water and biodiversity. “For me, our Taste Pure Nature country-of-origin brand and the environment are the two most important pillars for our successfully positioning our sector going forward.”
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.