Alliance's Pure South cuts win gold
Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.
Alliance Group has secured an exclusive deal to supply chilled New Zealand lamb to UK retailer Marks & Spencer.
The cooperative will be the sole supplier to Marks & Spencer from Christmas 2012, sourcing lambs from approved South Island farms for processing at the company's Lorneville (Invercargill), Pukeuri (Oamaru) and Smithfield (Timaru) plants.
This is the first time Marks & Spencer has agreed to an exclusive deal for chilled lamb from a single New Zealand supplier.
All Alliance Group products supplied to Marks & Spencer will be sourced from registered M&S Select farms so that the cooperative can trace lambs back to their farm of origin.
The M&S Select Farm scheme has supplying farmers registered on M&S Trak, a traceability management system launched by Marks & Spencer in 2009. The programme, which includes lamb suppliers from New Zealand and the UK, has a database that monitors farm management, animal origin and livestock records.
Meanwhile, in conjunction with AbacusBio (UK), Alliance Group is introducing its Hoofprint programme to selected UK farmers supplying lambs to Marks & Spencer. Hoofprint helps farmers monitor their carbon footprint and improve productivity. The Hoofprint model will be released to all registered Trak suppliers in New Zealand.
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.