McIvor to step down in July
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor will step down in July.
There have been negativities around farmers saying the sheep sector is declining.
Farmers are noting that the sheep flock is down to 28 million and returns aren’t good enough, says BLNZ chair James Parsons.
“However, right now we are running at our five year average for lamb per kilo of carcase weight,” he says. “It is not stellar, but in terms of averages we are ticking along okay.”
Meanwhile, Parsons says he has a “shed full” of wool on his farm that he hasn’t yet sold, but wool is always up and down.
“It is a commodity: China suddenly decides to stop buying and the price falls [but] in 12 months they will be back into it and the price will be up.”
Beef has been an interesting one: the schedule for bull was about $3.30/kg five years ago and is now sitting at $5.20/kg.
“The beef prices have really come up so we are seeing a lot more interest and probably have a bit more beef production and are decreasing sheep flocks,” he adds.
“We haven’t seen a big shift to dairy in the last couple of years understandably…. Some of the environmental regulations coming in are putting a dampener on those dairy conversions.”
Farmer-led charity, Meat the Need is calling for donations to enable it to supply more meals to families in need.
Weaker pricing and demand from China continue to impact New Zealand red meat export earnings.
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
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