Move over ham, here comes lamb
It’s official, lamb will take centre stage on Kiwi Christmas tables this year.
Social media is helping our beef and lamb exporters win new fans.
Facebook is playing an increasingly important role in Beef + Lamb New Zealand's international marketing programmes, as more and more tech-savvy shoppers turn online for the scoop on consumer products.
In Germany, the UK, and now Taiwan too, social networking website Facebook is enabling communities of fans to come together and tell their friends about how much they love New Zealand beef and lamb.
Crucially, the site provides a forum for consumers to share information and inspiration, as well as seek it. Fans can post recipes and pictures of dishes that they've cooked, ask questions – and answer them.
"Word of mouth has always been the best form of advertising," says Craig Finch, B+LNZ general manager market development.
"Facebook is just a modern way of doing that, with a growing number of champions for New Zealand beef and lamb in our key export markets."
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has consumer websites in the UK, Germany, Korea and Japan, as well as one for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and jointly hosts another in the US.
"They're a valuable way of providing easily accessible product information that helps to boost people's preference for buying Kiwi," Finch says. "Adding Facebook to the mix only increases our reach even further."
Winning four of the big categories at the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards feels special, says Meyer Cheese general manager Miel Meyer.
Local cheesemakers are being urged to embrace competition from imports but also ensure their products are never invisible in the country.
Ireland's Minister of state for Agriculture says it’s hard to explain to Irish farmers the size and scale of NZ farms.
Dairy farming in New Zealand offers career progression and this has motivated 2026 Central Plateau Share Farmers of the Year Navdeep Singh and Jobanpreet Kaur.
A partnership between Canterbury milk processor Synlait and the world's largest food producer, Nestlé, has been celebrated with a visit to a North Canterbury farm by a group including senior staff from Synlait, the Ravensdown subsidiary EcoPond, and Nestlé's Switzerland head office.
Canterbury milk processor Synlait is blaming what it calls "a perfect storm" of setbacks for a big loss in its half year result for the six months ended January 31, 2026.

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