Category Archives: New Zealand At Home

Meat activity in New Zealand, of interest to exporters and importers.

New Zealand’s ‘liquid gold’

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Water is also on the mind of our politicians. Water – New Zealand’s ‘liquid gold’ – is possibly New Zealand’s biggest opportunity to grow the productive part of our economy, according to the Minister for Primary Industries.

David Carter was speaking to the Federated Farmers’ annual conference last week, when he talked about New Zealand playing to its strengths.

“We can’t go past our abundance of water or New Zealand’s ‘liquid gold’.”

Despite difficult fiscal conditions, he pointed to the Government’s fronting with $35 million for the Irrigation Acceleration Fund to 50:50 fund the feasibility studies of schemes around New Zealand.

“The Government’s also committed $400 million through the Future Investment Fund to invest as a cornerstone shareholder in large water storage and irrigation schemes.

“We are making progress, particularly in Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury and Otago, but achieving consensus of all the various stakeholders means progress is slower than I would like.”

Most important aspect

David Carter, NZ Primary Industries MinisterIn his speech, the primary sector was referred to as “the most important aspect driving our economy forward.

“The healthy performance across most of the primary sectors has enabled our economy to weather the storms of the global financial crisis and, locally, the Canterbury earthquakes,” he said, pointing to the fact that the primary sector now makes up 71 percent of New Zealand’s total merchandise export trade.

Carter referred to the EU’s “major challenges” and the “subdued” US, which in the past would have had a huge impact on New Zealand. New Zealand is fortunate to have repositioned itself so significantly with Asia, he said.

“We are well on the way to realising the Prime Minister’s ambition, which is shared by China’s leaders, to double our bilateral trade to $20 billion by 2015. The government’s trade agenda, led by Tim Groser, has the potential to deliver more opportunities to primary producers and exporters.”

Talks with eight other Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, including new partners Mexico and Canada, and also Russia, India, South Korea and the Gulf States “and you sense the size of the potential prize,” he told delegates.

The Minister had just returned from Russia, with which free trade negotiations are progressing. Two-way trade is currently worth about $700 million. “But, if a deal is reached, it will be Russia’s first international trade deal and our exports will grow significantly,” he said.

Highly regarded

“One of the things that was reinforced to me during my trip was how highly regarded New Zealand is internationally. We are renowned as producers of some of the best food in the world, at a time when food security is the world’s greatest challenge.”

The Minister also referred to the importance of biosecurity, local government reform, rural broadband initiatives and a new animal welfare toolkit for farmers being launched by the Ministry for Primary Industries in his speech.

 

Watching water stewardship

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With current consumer trends and international focus on the environmental there is an ever-growing range of requirements facing business and local government. These can focus on tangible things like water and carbon as well as less tangible things like corporate and social responsibility and sustainability, writes sustainability consultant Kevin O’Grady.

In the case of water, there is a worldwide recognition that this will be the next area in which standards will be developed. The development of world standards for water stewardship is likely to form in two ways, concurrently:

  1. As Government policy leading to legislation which must be followed. This legislation may be influenced by bi-lateral or multi-lateral issues in the same way as the development of carbon emission reduction has been influenced by the Kyoto protocol. As the carbon experience shows, dealing with global issues through domestic legislation is fraught with difficulty.
  2. As market-driven standards that are widely accepted by environmental and social stakeholders and promoted water stewardship to consumers via the retailer and other trade ‘gatekeepers’. These standards are typically not constrained by regulatory minima or international trade protocols like the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Marine Stewardship Council, Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade are leading examples of high-end schemes.  These are typically part of the ISEAL Alliance.

Currently, there is a very early draft of a new International Water Stewardship Standard developed by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) that indicates the focus of water stewardship may be on managing whole of catchment impacts.

Around the world, individual sectors and regions are pondering what an eventual standard will look like for them.

In Australia, Water Stewardship Australia (WSA) has developed a regional standard that aims to be consistent with the AWS approach, but regionally relevant. The risk of not doing so is that another region may move ahead of the game and others will have to adopt a standard not suited to their region.

For example, the European Water Partnership (EWP), although an AWS member, has a programme of developing what they call ‘sectoral tools’ which will be highly Eurocentric.  They describe their aims, as follows:

  • The EWP harnesses European capacity, helps to coordinate initiatives and activities in international water issues and undertakes worldwide promotion of European expertise related to water.
  • The ultimate goal of the EWP is to elaborate strategies and implement concrete actions to achieve the objectives of the Water Vision for Europe.

In the case of the New Zealand meat industry, it may be of interest to note that Ingham Chickens in Australia have worked on an approach to meet the emerging standards.  Also, that large retail players like Marks and Spencer are actively looking at water stewardship for their suppliers (see Hepworth N, Agol D, Von-Lehr S and O’Grady K, 2011. AWS Kenya case-study technical report: Exploring the value of water stewardship standards in Africa. Alliance for Water Stewardship, funded by Marks and Spencer and GIZ amongst others).

For more information contact Kevin O’Grady who was involved as a consultant in the Ingham’s trial but has also worked with approaches to meet the emerging standards for irrigation, cotton growing, dairy farming, flower growing (Kenya), wine growing (Chile).

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Winner 2012 Deer Industry Photo Award

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Winner of this year’s Deer Industry Photo Award is this superb shot ‘Fighting Stags’ taken by Maree Hogg-MacDonald of Bay of Plenty.

Judges commented on the outstanding technical quality, composition and drama and also liked the way the personality of the subjects shone through.

You can read all about the competition – and all of the deer industry news from the recent Deer Industry Conference in Wanaka – in the latest edition of Deer Industry News (54, pdf 2.3 MB).

Congratulations to the Smiths

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Congratulations go to Otago sheep and beef farmers Blair and Jane Smith for winning the national title in the 2012 Ballance Farm Environmental Awards earlier this week.

The Smiths were awarded the Gordon Stephenson Trophy, having been chosen from nine regional supreme winners.

The award is sponsored by Beef and Lamb NZ Ltd (B+LNZ) because of its focus on showcasing farmers working sustainably and caring for the environment, says B+LNZ chief executive Scott Champion.

“This is the second year in a row that sheep and beef farmers have won the national trophy – Grant and Bernie Weller of Southland won it last year and undertook a B+LNZ-supported visit to Europe where they met industry representatives in key markets and had the opportunity to share their farming practices.

“We will be working with Blair and Jane Smith in the months ahead to ensure their great story of farming in an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable way is heard both within and beyond the sector,” says Champion.

Read more about the Smiths and their award here.

Glimpse of NZ economic growth, hold firm

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The latest figures from Statistics NZ show a glimpse of improvement in economic activity, with a rise in gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.1 percent in the first three months of 2012, helped in part by primary food manufacturing, including meat. However, economists say it won’t necessarily result in a cut to New Zealand’s OCR anytime soon and the NZ government is intending to continue on its current course.

Compared with the March 2011 quarter, economic activity in the March 2012 quarter was up 2.4 percent. For the year ended March 2012, economic activity was up 1.7 percent compared with the year ended March 2011.

The main contributors to the increase were: manufacturing (1.8 percent), primarily primary food manufacturing and metal product manufacturing;agriculture (up 2.3 percent) mainly driven by an increase in milk production; and business services (up two percent), which include professional, scientific, technical, administrative and support services.

“Continued good growing conditions have been a major factor in the growth this quarter and it is reflected in both the milk production in agriculture and in meat and dairy manufacturing,” says Statistics NZ’s national accounts manager Rachael Milicich.

The expenditure measure of GDP was up 0.8 percent in the March 2012 quarter, due mainly to investment in fixed assets, a $416 million build up in inventories as supplies of goods produced exceeded demand and a small increase in the volume of spending by NZ households.

Picking up the pace, “right on cue”

Westpac economists say the bottom line is that the pace of growth is picking up in 2012 “right on cue after a prolonged recession an the disruption of several earthquakes.” Senior economist Michael Gordon comments, however: “The composition of growth is likely to change in coming quarters, as exports slow and reconstruction activity picks up, but we are on track for an acceleration in overall activity this year.”

He says interest rate markets are now pointing to a one-third chance of an OCR cut later this year.  “We broadly agree with this pricing, although we don’t think today’s figures really shifted the odds much – the Reserve Bank made it clear in its June Monetary Policy Statement that the case for cutting rates depends on a nasty turn of events in Europe.”

While the figures represent a major upside surprise to RBNZ’s forecast of 0.4 percent growth, Westpac thinks that today’s result will not prompt the RBNZ into raising interest rates any sooner than it was already intending.

Government holding course

The government is maintaining its firm hand on the tiller. While the economy grew more strongly than expected in the quarter “despite ongoing economic and financial uncertainty in other parts of the world,” Finance Minister Bill English says: “What’s important for the Government is taking a long-term view of building New Zealand’s competitiveness and productivity, which will help us deal with headwinds from the uncertain global environment. That’s the focus of our economic plan.”

NZ export revenue expected to decline in 2012/2013

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New Zealand’s primary sector export revenue is expected to decline in 2012/13, as prices for commodities, such as New Zealand lamb, beef and venison, continue to come under pressure, according to a new report from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

Releasing its latest annual review of the sector, Situation and Outllook for Primary Industries 2012, MPI deputy director-general Paul Stocks noted that the prices for New Zealand’s primary industries are falling from relatively high levels but in general remain quite favourable. “Production this season has been generally good – even great for some – due to favourable climatic conditions.”

Summarising the sector, the review notes that meat and wool export revenues are expected to increase by 5.8%, to reach $7.2 billion, in the year ending 30 June 2012, owing to increased meat volumes and wool prices. Prices have been at high levels but now lamb schedule prices are falling back faster and further than the normal seasonal decline, says MPI. “This is because price-conscious consumers in Europe have shifted to less expensive meats. Some further falls are expected, but these should be modest because of lower stock numbers here and overseas.”

For beef, demand and schedule prices have held up better because of robust demand from Asian markets and falls in supply in the US and Australia.

Prices for venison have been falling since September 2011 and are forecast to bottom out in the first six months of 2012 and then rise slowly over the outlook period, reflecting decreasing supply from New Zealand and continuing demand.

The report shows that the meat sector has seen increased meat production this year as a result of favourable climate and pasture conditions.

Exchange rates continue to be of concern – and the greatest area of forecast uncertainty – says MPI.

A pdf copy of the report can be downloaded at the MPI’s website (Publications, News and Resources), where you can also order a hardcopy.

2012 Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year

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Steve Wyn-Harris (left) receiving his award from Landcorp chairman, Bill Bayliss.

Congratulations to Steve Wyn-Harris, a Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer and farming commentator, who has just been announced as the 2012 Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year.

Wyn-Harris started his farming career in 1985, when he bought 180 hectares in Central Hawke’s Bay, adding several other blocks over the years, so he and his wife now have 350ha. The properties carry high performance breeding ewes, including a Coopworth sheep stud that uses the latest technology such as sire referencing, AI and gene identification. Bull beef makes up 40% of the stock carried and 15% of the property is planted in forestry and areas of amenity and native plantings are scattered over all the farms. He has won a number of farming awards over the years, most recently last year when the farm took out the East Coast Balance Farm Environment Supreme Award.

He took out this year’s award as a broadcaster with his own local radio show and a regular on the national Farming Show. He is also a longstanding columnist and has been contributing weekly columns for many years and currently appears in NZ Farmers’ Weekly.

The Award is administered by the NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators (NZGAJC) and recognises excellence in communicating agricultural issues, events or information. regarded as the premier award for agricultural communicators, it is also the most valuable prize on offer. Landcorp provides a prize of $2,500, which is part of a funding package of $7,500 in sponsorship for the Guild. The additional funding assists with administration costs, including the award dinner.

Guild President, Jon Morgan, said Steve is a worthy recipient of the award this year. His columns, comments, presentations at conferences cover an extensive range of topics, but his style remains the same, relaxed, whimsical and often humorous. “He is widely respected as an excellent farmer, but has that rare gift of communication that crosses all areas of rural life.”

Meat season hits the wall, says Barber

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Cattle supply has virtually dried up earlier than expected this season, Allan Barber has found. Writing in his most recent blog, he says settlement of the industrial dispute at AFFCO barely came in time to beat the passing of the season’s processing peak. Contrary to expectations that the supply of cattle, particularly cull dairy cows, would last until the end of June at least, the flow has virtually dried up.

Barber has been talking to B+LNZ Ltd’s Economic Service executive director Rob Davision. Read more …