“It will be our first chance since the autumn meetings to be out among the rank and file and test that support base for what we’re doing,” says Otago farmer Mark Patterson, of the Meat Industry Excellence Group’s establishment committee.
At the meetings, Patterson will present the resolution he’s tabled with Alliance Group calling for Fonterra director John Monaghan to be appointed as an independent director. Meanwhile, MIE-backed meat co-operative board candidates Richard Young, Dan Jex-Blake, Don Morrison and Monaghan will all speak.
“Then we’ll have a question and answer session, followed by a brief closing comment by an MIE representative,” MIE chairman John McCarthy toldRural News.
The meetings will be chaired, in most cases by a local, he adds.
Incumbent directors seeking re-election, Murray Taggart, Jason Miller (both Alliance) and David Shaw (Silver Fern Farms) may attend, but have not specifically been invited, Patterson says.
“They’re public meetings so they’re more than welcome to turn up if they wish.”
McCarthy says the meetings aren’t just for MIE supporters.
“People who don’t agree with us are welcome to come along and attack us for all they’re worth.”
He’s confident from the analysis MIE’s commissioned – admittedly on a financial shoestring and information gleaned – that a merger of the two cooperatives is the way forward.
“With this model we will be able to build all parts of the pie.”
McCarthy says MIE doesn’t expect those not supplying cooperative’s to suddenly drop long-standing successful relationships with competitors. But if a merger happens, he’s calling for them to consider committing at least for a small proportion to the co-ops.
While there are some very good supply chain models working in the non co-op sector, in the current industry structure they are not delivering the value to the farmer, or indeed the company, they could be, he adds.
“There are so many of them they… leak value.”
Similarly, there are too many individual companies, he believes.
“Competitive tension doesn’t work when you’ve got this many players.”
The number of processors is also the reason previous efforts at industry reform, particularly those aimed at bringing more than two companies together.
“It’s like herding cats, trying to get 20 exporters to agree a way forward.”
McCarthy says if the candidates MIE is backing get onto the cooperatives’ boards, and he believes they will, it will be different to when MIAG (Meat Industry Action Group) candidates Mark Crawford, Jason Miller (both Alliance) and Herstell Ulrich (Silver Fern Farms) became directors and little changed.
“These candidates are standing on a very specific platform and it will send a clear message to the rest of the board about the wishes of shareholders.”
Previous arguments by directors that while a merger might be for the greater good of the industry, it wouldn’t be for that particular company therefore they could not support it, do not wash with him either.
Whatever the outcome of these director elections, “MIE isn’t going to go away,” he says.
“We’re already targeting possible directors for next year’s elections and considering putting forward candidates for other industry bodies.”
Silver Fern Farms’ annual meeting is December 18, in Dunedin, Alliance’s December 13 in Invercargill. Voting papers go out late this month.
Details of MIE’s meetings, which kicked off in Masterton on Monday 18 November, are on: www.mienz.com .
