Move over ham, here comes lamb
It’s official, lamb will take centre stage on Kiwi Christmas tables this year.
A new programme that will look at how more value can be generated from beef carcases has been approved for Government funding.
Ministry for Primary Industries Director-General Wayne McNee has announced approved co-funding from the Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) for the new Foodplus programme.
The PGP Fund is committing $43.5 million over seven years for the programme, which is worth $87 million in total and is being run by ANZCO Foods.
Foodplus will identify opportunities to create new products, with a particular focus on parts of the beef carcase that currently generate less value. ANZCO has identified three markets for innovative new products: food, ingredients and healthcare.
"Adding further value to the carcase is essential for the future success of the meat industry," McNee says. "ANZCO's vision for Foodplus is relevant and bold, and now backed by a significant investment."
Rennie Davidson, CEO of ANZCO's Food & Solutions division says ANZCO welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Crown on the Foodplus programme. "It is a large-scale project that wouldn't be achievable without collaboration. We're excited about the potential that this will bring to the sector," he says.
Fears of a serious early drought in Hawke’s Bay have been allayed – for the moment at least.
There was much theatre in the Beehive before the Government's new Resource Management Act (RMA) reform bills were introduced into Parliament last week.
The government has unveiled yet another move which it claims will unlock the potential of the country’s cities and region.
The government is hailing the news that food and fibre exports are predicted to reach a record $62 billion in the next year.
The final Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction has delivered bad news for dairy farmers.
One person intimately involved in the new legislation to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) is the outgoing chief executive of the Ministry for the Environment, James Palmer, who's also worked in local government.

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