increase font size
Federated Farmers meat & wool chair Toby Williams.
Skewed policy, favouring forestry over farming, should be blamed for Alliance Group’s proposal to close its Timaru meatworks, says Federated Farmers.
Feds meat and wool chairperson Toby Williams claims this is a symptom of broader issues that will continue undermining the primary sector until fixed.
Extending his sympathies to the 600 workers and their families affected by the proposed closure of the aging Smithfield plant, Williams noted that this would be a huge blow to Timaru.
"The prospect of the 139-year-old Smithfield plant going, and the loss of such a major employer in Timaru, is a huge blow to South Canterbury and we’re really feeling for them."
Williams says while there are multiple macro-economic factors at play behind Alliance’s decision, wrong-headed and skewed policy settings are a key reason the sheep and beef sector is under such strain.
"We’ve had a decade of policy that has favoured forestry over farming, incentivising planting radiata, particularly for carbon revenue.
"On top of that, excessive red tape and layers of impractical and poorly consulted-on regulation have strangled farming confidence and investment.
"This year’s stock count showed sheep numbers slumped by another million or so in the last year, to 23 million.
"Federated Farmers has always highlighted that when poor regulations stifle farming, the impacts are felt throughout our rural communities and broader national economy.
"This is sadly coming to play today, and it is the people of South Canterbury who will feel this the hardest."
The coalition Government is making progress winding back some of the previous administration’s freshwater and resource management regulations and planning directives, Williams notes.
"The aim is to continue looking after the environment, but balancing that with ensuring the economic and social wellbeing of communities gets the same prominence.
"For farmers, and for processors and the wider economy, that re-balancing can’t happen soon enough," Williams says.
Alliance Group says it will close the Smithfield meat processing plant in Timaru, South Canterbury, ending at the site. Alliance would continue venison processing at the plant until no later than the end of December, by which time the company expects to have alternative arrangements in place for deer.
If the proposal is confirmed following a consultation process, impacted staff, wherever possible, would be offered the opportunity to apply for re-deployment at the company’s other processing plants, however it is anticipated there would be a significant number of redundancies.
Willie Wiese, chief executive of Alliance, says the proposed closure is due to a decline in sheep processing numbers as a result of land-use change, which has resulted in surplus capacity in the company’s plant network.
Federated Farmers meat and wool chair, Toby Williams says what the Government has effectively signed up for is a decade more of planting pine trees on productive land because that’s the only way for our country to achieve such a steep reduction.
With a record $10-plus/kgMS milk price almost locked in for this season, next season isn’t looking too shabby either.
Alliance Group has secured greater access for chilled beef exports to China, following approval for two of its processing plants to supply the market.
Southland Federated Farmers president Jason Herrick says farmers are prepared for winter grazing every year.
A steep learning curve, a very busy year and thank heavens for tractor therapy. That's how Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard described his first year in Parliament to reporter Peter Burke at his dairy farm in the Manawatu during the holiday break.
Farmlands says that improved half-year results show that the co-op’s tight focus on supporting New Zealand’s farmers and growers is working.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says that discovery of a male Oriental fruit fly on Auckland’s North Shore is a cause for concern for growers.
Fonterra says its earnings for the 2025 financial year are anticipated to be in the upper half of its previously forecast earnings range of 40-60 cents per share.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is having another crack at increasing the fees of its chair and board members.
Livestock management tech company Nedap has launched Nedap New Zealand.
An innovative dairy effluent management system is being designed to help farmers improve on-farm effluent practices and reduce environmental impact.
OPINION: Ruth Richardson, architect of the 1991 ‘Mother of all Budgets’ and the economic reforms dubbed ‘Ruthanasia’, added her two…
OPINION: Why do vegans and others opposed to eating meat try to convince others that a plant based diet is…
