Tag Archives: beef

Record year for Beef and Lamb awards

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Beef and Lamb Excellence Awards 2013A record number of New Zealand restaurants have been recognised for their top quality beef and lamb cuisine.

The 2013 Beef and Lamb Excellence Awards, presented by Beef + Lamb NZ Inc (B+LNZ), acknowledge consistency and quality in the preparation and presentation of beef and lamb cuisine.

Following anonymous assessments by culinary experts late last year, an impressive total of 194 restaurants nationwide received the Beef and Lamb Excellence Award, which offer an indication of supreme quality says B+LNZ Inc chief executive Rod Slater.

“If an establishment carries an Excellence Award, consumers are assured they can expect a delicious beef or lamb experience.”

Diners in New Zealand can locate Beef and Lamb Excellence Award restaurants easily, by looking for the gold-rimmed plate and window stickers. You can also find all the award-winning restaurants here.

American sheep farmers suffering even more than here

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Allan BarberIt’s tougher in the US for sheepfarmers, Allan Barber has found.

An article headlined ‘Drought, high feed costs hurt sheep ranchers,’ appeared last Friday in the Northern Colorado Business Report, he writes in his latest blog posting. It makes the problems being experienced currently by New Zealand sheep farmers look comparatively pretty small.

This isn’t meant to denigrate the difficulties here, but it puts things in context. One rancher has cut his 2,000 head flock by a third and is losing US$80 on every lamb he sells. According to the article, drought, consolidation of the sheep-packing business, increased feed costs and plummeting lamb prices have created hardship among sheep ranchers across Northern Colorado. The situation has deteriorated so much for ranchers that the federal government is investigating whether meat packers have played a role in the market’s collapse.

In 2011 lamb prices soared above US$2 per pound, or about NZ$5.25 a kilo. But today the same lambs fetch only 85 cents per pound (NZ$2.20), while rearing a lamb costs more than $1.30 per pound (NZ$3.40 a kilo). Feed costs have also risen from $250 per ton of grain in 2011 to $400 in 2012.

As lamb prices declined in 2012 demand also softened, causing the US Department of Agriculture to buy $10 million worth of lamb as a drought relief measure. An insurance policy designed to insulate ranchers against fluctuating lamb prices is too expensive at present price levels.

There is also a suspicion that the packers may have been manipulating the market by buying lamb supplies and holding them on feedlots to guard against being caught with insufficient stock to process profitably. This is apparently in violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act which prohibits price manipulation.

A further disadvantage is the fact Japan has been closed as an export market for sheepmeat for 10 years because of mad cow disease – I’m not sure why this was the case, as sheep were not the problem and lambs are too young to pose a risk.

The USDA has asked for any evidence of price manipulation by the packers, as it ‘takes allegations of anti-competitive behaviour very seriously.’ But it doesn’t look as though there will be any relief for sheep farmers any time soon because of low consumer demand and the high cost of feed as a result of the drought.

None of this will be any comfort to New Zealand sheep farmers, especially with the implications for export demand from the USA, but at least our exporters have developed a much broader range of markets for sheepmeat and co-products. This spreads the risk for producers. Equally farmers here don’t have the same worries about feed costs, as the vast majority of sheep and lamb feed generally grows naturally as a result of regular rain.

That said, it is important for New Zealand’s sheep industry, as distinct from its beef industry, to develop a strategy which can ensure our industry doesn’t fall into the same hole as that of Colorado.

Allan Barber is a meat industry and agribusiness commentator. This article has appeared at www.interest.co.nz and also at Allan’s own blog Barber’s Meaty Issues.

Outlook cloudy for 2013

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Allan BarberHappy New Year to you all. Meat industry commentator Allan Barber has already had his head down thinking about what’s likely to pan out for the industry later in 2013.

His latest blog, which also appears at www.interest.co.nz, talks of a weak US dollar, weak export demand and low prices for Kiwi producers. However, Allan’s picking that there will be less effect on New Zealand beef than on sheepmeat and he foresees more pressure on lamb this year.

Looking globally, he sees aversion of the fiscal cliff in the US, will allow US economic recovery to emerge, will also allow recovery in China and for Europe to “move further back from its own economic disaster”. In turn, both New Zealand and Australia should avoid the worst impact of an extended downturn in main markets, he says.

His “big questions” for 2013 are whether all meat companies will survive the year and whether the increasing use of farm data will assist the co-operation between farmer and meat processor. Read more …

Lower lamb prices expected, but firm for beef

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MPI Situation and Outlook update December 2012New Zealand’s meat processors and farmers can expect lower lamb prices over the remainder of the 2012/2013 production season, while beef prices are expected to remain firm over the next two years, says the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).

Deteriorating global economic conditions are having a significant impact on returns for New Zealand’s primary produce, according to the MPI’s recently released half-year update to the annual Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report, which was published in June.

The update shows there has been strong pastoral production so far in the 2012/2013 season. “This is partly due to favourable climatic conditions during the previous season which left breeding stock in good condition and also ongoing expansion of the dairy herd,” says Chris Jones, manager of economic information and analysis for MPI’s sector policy division.

However, MPI reports the continuing economic slowdown, particularly in the traditional markets of the European Union, is causing weaker demand for some products such as lamb resulting in lower lamb prices. In addition, the strengthening of the New Zealand dollar against most major trading currencies in recent months is having a dampening effect on farm-gate returns for primary produce.

In contrast, beef prices are expected to remain firm over the next two years, following a major drought in North America affecting production there.

As a result, primary sector export revenue for the year to June 2013 is forecast to be around $27.5 billion, down five percent on the previous year ($29.2 billion).

 

 

ANZCO starts energy management programme

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One of New Zealand’s largest exporters is set to save more than $2 million a year and enhance its global reputation as a sustainable producer through a company-wide energy management programme.

The Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority’s EECA Business announced yesterday it would support the initiative over two years to help meat processor and exporter ANZCO generate long-term energy savings in its New Zealand plants.

With annual sales of $1.25 billion, ANZCO Foods Ltd processes and markets New Zealand beef and lamb products around the world. The firm employs over 3,000 staff world-wide and has 11 meat processing plants in New Zealand.

This programme will target a reduction in its processing plant energy use by 25 gigawatt hours (GWh), returning ongoing annual savings of $2.45 million after two years.

EECA Business general manager Ian Niven says that making better use of its energy will provide far-reaching benefits for the company and congratulated the company on its vision.

“Globally New Zealand is recognised for sustainably produced, premium quality meat products. And energy efficiency is one of the best ways to strengthen environmental credentials.

“By taking a lead in energy efficiency, ANZCO is making significant energy cost savings and signaling to its customers that it is committed to sustainable production,” he says.

Mark Clarkson, ANZCO Foods.

ANZCO managing director, Mark Clarkson says the programme will deliver on many levels for the company.

“Sustainability is key to the ANZCO brand and we are always looking for new ways to build on our reputation for environmentally responsible production, so reducing energy costs is a priority.”

The programme involves the establishment of a group-wide energy management plan, led by a team responsible for putting in place up to $5 million of identified energy efficiency projects.

With the assistance of one of EECA Business’ industrial programme partners, ANZCO will set up a system to help keep the programme on-track, measure efficiency outcomes, and develop case studies for a number of the projects.

Ian Niven says management commitment is key to the programme achieving its objectives.

“From the Board of Directors through to site operations, ANZCO leadership has indicated it wants to foster a culture of efficient energy use throughout the company.

“Such commitment is important to the success of making enduring improvements to energy management.”

EECA Business funding of up to $450,000 will be made available in stages upon achievement of various programme milestones.

Prime Minister opens new SFF Te Aroha plant

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Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Key opened Silver Fern Farms’ brand new flagship processing plant at Te Aroha this afternoon.

The new plant, the first to be built by the farmer co-operative under its current name Silver Fern Farms, replaces the beef processing plant seriously damaged by fire on the site in December 2010.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of central and local government, local iwi, and members of the Te Aroha community in addition to Silver Fern Farms’ board of directors, leadership team, plant management and contractors involved in the project.

Silver Fern Farms’ chairman, Eoin Garden, and chief executive, Keith Cooper, welcomed a large gathering of all those associated with the rebuild including contractors, local government representatives, local iwi and members of the Te Aroha community.

At the opening, Garden said the investment of $67m to commission the state-of-the-art facility was testament to the co-operative’s strong confidence in the sector and he indicated the clear alignment of this investment with the Government’s business growth agenda.

Keith Cooper spoke of the importance this plant has, not only to farmer-suppliers in the surrounding rural areas, but also to the local Te Aroha community. The fact the plant will be fully operational ahead of the new season is welcome news for the township, with the prospect it will employ up to 380 staff when operating at full capacity.

“The whole community has been behind the project every step of the way” said Te Aroha plant manager, Lance Warmington. “The company’s commitment to rebuilding Te Aroha is a big deal here – it means future security for hundreds of families in the area.”

Positive spin-offs for local community

Throughout the rebuilding process, Silver Fern Farms endeavoured to provide alternative options for staff whose livelihoods were affected by the fire, to the extent of making positions available at neighbouring plants and providing accommodation supplements in the early stages. In tough times, the company’s significant capital spend also has provided positive spin-offs to the local economy as a result of the number of contractors throughout the region engaged during the course of construction.

“Our whole team are extremely proud of the facility we’ve designed and created,” Warmington added.

“The company culture and the Silver Fern Farms brand and all it stands for are really embedded in the overall look and feel of the new plant, and our people are responding really positively to the new working environment.”

Eco-efficiency and sustainability “top of mind”

Developed in consultation with internationally recognised experts in process layout and ergonomics, the plant incorporates the latest meat processing technologies, including sophisticated traceability and yield collection systems. Cooper said the new design reflects the company’s focus on plant economics and best practice processing, and that eco-efficiency and sustainability were top of mind considerations.

“The rebuild gave us the opportunity to review the environmental footprint of our operation. Our focus is improving environmental efficiency while reducing costs through better use of resources and reduction of waste.” he said . “As a result, the plant sets a new industry benchmark in line with global customer requirements – it uses significantly less electricity and water per head and discharges less effluent per head processed.”

In his address, Cooper also thanked the co-operative’s loyal farmer-suppliers in the area for supporting the company through the re-build.

“We are grateful to those suppliers who have stood by us and persevered while we got the new plant up and running – we know the disruption has been an inconvenience for many. But we are enthusiastic about the service levels and advantages we can now offer them as a result of our investment.”

Silver Fern Farms intends to open the plant to farmer-suppliers and the local community in a series of open days in February 2013.

 

Beef industry stamps footprint

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The government recently announced that it will not sign up for new commitments under the Kyoto Protocol when the treaty’s first commitment period expires at the end of next year. However, this does not mean the meat industry’s sustainability focus will lessen, or that this country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation efforts for the primary sector are not important.
In August, the New Zealand Beef Footprint study was released highlighting beef productivity gains and giving New Zealand’s beef processors and exporters the comprehensive information they need for their customers about the meat’s carbon footprint.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) chief executive Tim Ritchie says that his organisation had supported the study because sustainability is still a critical issue in important markets.
“While it is possibly not as front-of-mind in markets as it was two or three years ago, sustainability remains very important and greenhouse gas emissions are a key component of sustainability.”
The study has created a benchmark for understanding where greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are occurring across the beef supply chain, including production, processing, transportation and consumption.It has found that the majority (over 90 percent) of emissions occur on the farm. The footprint varies depending on the type of farm, the sex and age of the animals and whether or not animals from the dairy industry are used.
Overall, the weighted New Zealand average GHG emissions from beef animals from sheep and beef farms was 10.5kg CO2-equvalents (CO2-e) per kg of liveweight.Emissions arising from transport to market are extremely low.
Transport accounts for 4.2 percent of emissions, the report shows. In particular, oceanic shipping is very efficient and this study shows it contributes just 1.1-2.7 percent of the total carbon footprint.In addition, consumption accounts for 3.3 percent of emissions while just 2.1 percent comes from processing, which the report notes “is an area over which industry has direct control and where technologies are available to reduce emissions.”
Dr Stewart Ledgard, the lead author of the report says that until there is a globally-agreed methodology for ‘footprinting’ of meat products, it is hard to assess how New Zealand’s footprint compared to others. This study used the Life Cycle Assessment approach, which is consistent with the PAS2050 published standard for GHG footprinting.The beef study was undertaken by AgResearch and funded by the Meat Industry Association, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Landcorp and the Ministry for Primary Industries greenhouse gas footprinting strategy. B+LNZ Ltd and individual meat processors provided data and information for the study. This adds to a study already completed on New Zealand lamb’s carbon footprint in 2010.

More reading: see ‘A Greenhouse Gas Footprint Study for Exported New Zealand Beef’, M Lieffering, S Ledgard, M Boyes & R Kemp, February 2012.

This article appeared in Food NZ magazine (December 2012/January 2013).

New programme to add value to beef

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A new $87 million innovation 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 today 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.

ANZCO Foods is a multinational group of companies and one of New Zealand’s largest exporters, with sales of $1.3 billion and employing more than 3,000 staff worldwide. ANZCO Foods also owns processing plants and a cattle feedlot: CMP, Riverlands and Five Star Beef.

“Adding further value to the carcase is essential for the future success of the meat industry,” says McNee. “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 welcomes 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.”

This announcement brings the Government’s investment in meat industry PGP programmes to $129.5 million, for projects worth a total of over half a billion dollars.

Minister welcomes announcement

David Carter, NZ Primary Industries MinisterPrimary Industries Minister David Carter has welcomed the announcement of another successful PGP bid which lifts the total invested in the variety of projects to more than $650 million.

“ANZCO’s proposal to generate more value from the beef carcase with its Foodplus programme is bold and innovative.  This is exactly what PGP is about – transforming great ideas into tangible R&D programmes focussed on results,” says Carter.

“Today’s announcement lifts the total government-industry investment in PGP since its inception three years ago to $665 million.  This is firm proof of the Government’s drive to lift economic growth through primary sector innovation.

“Thanks to the collaborative government-industry approach, we have relevant projects underway across a range of sectors from dairy, arable, red meat and wool to forestry, seafood and aquaculture and manuka honey.

“New Zealand stands to gain from innovative investment in its primary industries because our food, fibre, fishing and forestry sectors are at the heart of our economy,” says the Minister.

ANZCO Foods is a multinational group of companies and one of New Zealand’s largest exporters, with sales of $1.3 billion and employing more than 3000 staff worldwide. The company owns processing plants and a cattle feedlot within a group including CMP, Riverlands and Five Star Beef.

Landcorp to return $20 million dividend to government

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State-owned farm, Landcorp, has had a solid performance this year according to its latest accounts, says meat industry commentator Allan Barber.

Landcorp’s net operating profit of $27 million for 2011/12 was down on the previous year, but still a good performance, Barber says in a recent blog, adding that the SOE will pay a $20 million dividend to the Government.

During the year, it produced 10,176 tonnes of sheepmeat, 9,715 tonnes of beef and 2,258 tonnes of venison, as well as large volumes of milk solids, wool and timber.

Landcorp has a target of selling 80 percent of its lambs on fixed price contracts to Silver Fern Farms, Alliance and other meat companies and last year achieved in excess of 70 percent by this method, proving to its satisfaction that this provides less volatile and overall better market returns than spot trading. Lamb production is geared to meet specific weights and specification to fulfill meat companies’ contracts with northern hemisphere retailers.

As a founder partner with Silver Fern Farms and the Ministry for Primary Industries in FarmIQ Systems, Landcorp is committed to the development of integrated value chains from pasture to plate, designed to align New Zealand production and supply with consumer demand preferences. Twelve of Landcorp’s farms are now on FarmIQ’s farm management system.

The development which attracted the most publicity was the joint venture with Shanghai Pengxin to manage the 16 Crafar dairy farmers bought from the receivers and expected to get underway shortly. This fits in with Landcorp’s goal to increase its involvement in the dairy industry and a further “extension to Maronan Dairies in mid-Canterbury and further development Wairakei Estates near Taupo will contribute to this,” Barber believes.

Sheep and beef finishing has been boosted by the development of Cheltenham Downs in Manawatu and this has helped recovery from the drought years of 2007 and 2008, reports Barber.

Over the past 22 years, Landcorp has paid dividends to the government; therefore, New Zealand as a while, of nearly half a billion dollars.

“There’s no evidence that Landcorp is constrained by public ownership or that it would benefit from part privatisation,” concludes Barber.

Read the full blog item here at Barber’s Meaty Issues …

This item has also appeared at www.interest.co.nz.

 

Pet food and jerky emerging as export growth opportunities

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Pet food and prepared/processed beef products like beef jerky, or biltong, are two emerging growth opportunities for the New Zealand meat industry that have been identified in a newly released Coriolis report An Investor’s Guide to Emerging Growth Opportunities in New Zealand Food and Beverage Exports.

Strategic management consultants Coriolis carried out the report on behalf of the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to identify emerging high potential food and beverage export categories.

The report filtered out various export categories over $100 million each, such as boneless frozen and chilled lamb, bone-in sheepmeat, boneless and bone-in frozen and chilled beef, meat and edible offal (including venison), fats of beef, sheep or goats, as they “represent New Zealand’s core food and beverage exports” and also categories under $2 million. This left a core 129 categories for analysis.

Pet food and jerky were two of the initial 25 categories short-listed for their emerging export growth potential. Two more meat industry related categories – protein concentrates and textured protein substances and sausages – just missed the initial cut, with frozen chicken cuts also being dropped out of the final 20 as it had low potential export growth.

Pet food has a large global market, strongly growing demand and opportunities for growth in Asia, especially China, Australia and other rich countries, the analysis shows alongside information showing the category is capital intensive, requires some skills and has moderate trade access. Pet food has already attracted investment from US-owned Watties and Mars NZ and Swiss-owned Nestle NZ. Currently, exports are worth US$169 million, out of a global market worth US$13.8 billion, but the “possible size of the prize” by 2025 could be in excess of US$500 million, says Coriolis.

Beef jerky has received inward investment from US company Jack Link’s, which has grown the category markedly in recent years. New Zealand’s exports of processed/preserved beef are currently worth US$83 million, out of a global market worth US$7.4 billion, but he potential prize lies between $100-200 million for the category to 2025, says Coriolis. Opportunities lie in Asia, but making jerky is a capital intensive process that requires skills.. The UK is seen to have potential for the product

Report: a “vital resource”

New Zealand Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich says the report is a vital resource for anyone in the food industry or someone looking to invest in it. This is the first time this information has been collected in such as easy-to-reference format.

“The food industry is the backbone of the economy and is always looking for investment to grow export opportunities. It is important that this additional investment is attracted so new Zealand can take advantage of the significant growth opportunities presenting themselves, particularly in Asia as the middle class there grows,” she says.

“It is perhaps not surprising that the sectors identified by the report as showing the greatest potential to grab these opportunities are ones where New Zealand could have a competitive advantage: salmon, honey, spirits, biscuits, pet food, cherries and infant formula,” says Rich, adding that there are other areas too, including beef jerky.

“As the report identifies, our exports of these top categories in 2010 were greater than the wine industry ($1.03 billion as against $951 million) and most of them are growing faster than all other food and beverage exports. Some 17 of them have already attracted foreign and/or private equity investment, indicating that the market itself has identified they present strong opportunities for growth.”

The categories of processed goods are already having an impact. “But what is most exciting is that Coriolis predicts that if they all acheived their potential we would be looking at exports worth between $4.3 billion and $6.1 billion – approximately $4.9 billion additional.”

To achieve the Government’s goal of increasing exports by 40 percent by 2025, each of these categories needs to continue to grow, says Rich. “This MBIE report will play a critical role in informing this plan.”

An Investor’s Guide to Emerging Growth Opportunities in New Zealand Food and Beverage Exports can be read online at the www.foodandbeverage.govt.nz website, where you can also download a pdf copy.