Meat through the looking glass

We have evolved significantly since the 1980's, shifting from a subsidy driven, volume based sector selling frozen carcasses, to an industry focused on moving into high value trade, based around efficiency and quality. Farmers have a powerful voice as we look to evolve further and those voices need to be heard. At our Meat & Fibre Council meeting the other .week, I had a valuable opportunity to hear some of these.

The most common discussion was around farmer behaviour and the impact that has. At a grass roots level we farm as individuals. First we need to understand what is important to us, what our business values are, before we try and fit into a bigger industry vision. Our actions speak louder than words, so we need to consider how our behaviour influences our vision and the goals we have set for the industry in the next 20 years.

This year we have seen farmers showing a lot more optimism in both the wider economy and individual farm prospects. Following a very tough 2012/13 season, sheep and beef farmers are heavily focused on the problems they see with the red meat industry. This is something Federated Farmers is engaged in, as we have a focus to ensure the viable and sustainable future of red-meat and fibre farming.

For so long we have farmed from year to year with no firm grasp on the bigger picture, but farmers have more power than they think when it comes to industry reform. If we as farmers collaborate and demand more transparency within the industry, we can move forward and shift away from the short term 'Every man for himself' mentality that has for so long dogged our industry. President Obama encapsulated our predicament well,

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

The Meat & Fibre Council also discussed rigorously their frustration at the sheep and beef industry being compared to the dairy industry. With great respect to Fonterra, the red meat industry is a completely different beast. Our strengths are not the same as the dairy industry's, and neither is the way we deliver our product to the market. Just as every individual is unique, so is every industry and they should be treated as such. We add value to New Zealand's economy through premium products, which is achieved through relationship building rather than a business model that is fundamentally about quantity. With that said, we are still not reaching our full potential.

New Zealand is internationally regarded for producing consistent, high quality meat; however a large proportion is being sold with no real New Zealand brand, limiting our ability to attract a premium for the product. The value added to our product needs to come from the stories we tell and the vision we deliver as a cohesive industry. They are our stories and if we do not build better relations in our back yard, as well as presenting a united front to the world, we will continue to sabotage ourselves. Whilst there is great work being done between some parts of the industry, this needs to be replicated on a larger scale.

Right now progress is fragmented and we need to come together before we go forward. So I encourage you to challenge yourselves when we introduce our Meat Industry Options Paper, to Federated Farmers' members, this week. Read it first as an individual, find what sits right with you, and then as someone who is part of an industry that feeds the world a premium product. Going forward we need your input as we look to the future with a vibrant engaging meat industry.