Meat season hits the wall, says Barber

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 …

A decade of great steak

B+LNZ chairman Mike Petersen (left) congratulates Producer of the Decade Karen and Chris Biddles.

Chris and Karen Biddles from Te Atarangi Angus are the victorious winners of this year’s Producer of the Decade at the Steak of Origin grand final held on 15 May 2012.

To celebrate 10 years of the contest to find New Zealand’s most tender and tasty steak, all results from previous competitions were tallied up to find the top performing and most consistent producer.

Alongside this special award, the annual competition was once again hotly contested with Alex Macmillan from Pipiwai being named the 2012 Steak of Origin Grand Champion.

Head judge, Graham Hawkes, said this 10 year celebration has made the competition one to remember.

“There’s been a real festival feel to this year’s contest, with 10 judges from across the decade involved,” Hawkes said. “The competition has certainly come a long way from its humble beginnings but one thing’s for sure, the steak has always been incredible.

Allso awarded was the Brand of the Decade, which went to AngusPure, the NZ Retailer/Wholesaler of the Decade, awarded to Neat Meat and the 2012 Supreme Brand Award which was also won by Neat Meat.

 

New Zealand’s ‘Steak of the Decade’

New Zealand beef producers are lining up in the hunt for New Zealand’s top beef producer of the decade. Ten finalists were announced today in the competition that is being run to celebrate a decade of the Steak of Origin Challenge which aims to find the nation’s most tender and tasty sirloin steak.

The results of over 3,000 entries from the last nine years of competition have been analysed and will be combined with the results from this year. Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd’s chief executive, Dr Scott Champion says 10 years of the Steak of Origin Challenge is a significant milestone for the competition.

“This competition is keenly contested by farmers who are focused on producing the best steak and it goes from strength to strength each year,” he said. The Steak of Origin Producer of the Decade will be decided by the results of this year’s Steak of Origin challenge with semi-finalists also announced today. Ten judges from the past nine years of competition have been invited back to help determine the winner. The judging line-up includes Allyson Gofton, Sir Colin Meads, Sarah Ulmer and Associate Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Nathan Guy. An award for the Brand of the Decade will also be presented to a steak brand which has consistently delivered a quality product. The Steak of Origin semi-final will be held at Gorilla Restaurant in Christchurch on Friday 4 May followed by the Grand Final held during the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Beef Expo in Feilding on Monday 14 May, where all the winners will be announced.

Praise for industry’s animal welfare approach

Primary Industries Minister David Carter has praised the Primary Industry Chief Executive’s Animal Welfare Forum for its contribution to animal welfare.

Carter attended the biannual meeting of the Forum recently and endorsed the group’s 2012 plan.

“New Zealand’s major livestock production industries are taking a responsible approach to animal welfare standards through encouraging voluntary compliance and proactive initiatives,” he said.

One of the Forum’s key 2012 projects involves working with farmers, meat processors, transport operators, private veterinarians and MAF to ensure that all transported animals are fit for transport. The group is also focusing on the on-farm welfare and transportation of bobby calves for slaughter.

David Carter, Minister for Primary Industries

Mandatory livestock tracing one step closer

A Bill to deliver electronic national identification and tracing of livestock passed its third and final reading in Parliament In February.

Primary Industries Minister David Carter says the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) Bill is a significant step in protecting farmers in the international marketplace and strengthening New Zealand’s biosecurity system.

The NAIT bill sets out the legal framework for the collection of information on livestock, their location and movement history throughout their lifetime. It also outlines the governance arrangement and powers for the NAIT organisation.

“NAIT needs to be mandatory to be effective,” the Minister says. It will begin with cattle on 1 July this year and deer by 1 March 2013.

“With most other agricultural producing nations already having computerised tracing of individual animals, New Zealand simply cannot afford to lag behind,” he said, adding that NAIT is essentially an insurance policy to support New Zealand’s high livestock health status and biosecurity infrastructure, but can also be used to further improve productivity and on-farm management.

The meat industry supports the introduction of NAIT as it will give greater assurance to customers of the wholesomeness of New Zealand meat products.

Great pastoral conditions along with continuing good prices

Photo: Courtesy B+LNZ

Beef + Lamb NZ’s mid-season update for the sheep and beef sector reports that export receipts estimated at $6.6 billion hold at last year’s level. Last year, export receipts for the sector were up 15 percent.

Expectations are for a small lift in export volumes and continued good prices relative to recent years. This will be moderated by the strength of the New Zealand dollar, particularly against the Euro and British pound.

The report contained few surprises for B+LNZ Economic Service director Rob Davison, who says it’s rare for such good pastoral conditions and international prices  to align. Lamb prices are expected to average at $115 a head, slightly down on 2010-2011’s high. Offshore prices are expected to remain at good levels, though the stronger NZ dollar against the pound softens the price received here. The recent strengthening of the NZ dollar against its US counterpart is also a concern, Davison says.

Global mutton supplies remain tight, while beef exports are expected to lift in the 2011-2012 season which ends in June.

PM helps to pick best lamb

The Glammies 2012 judging panel (right to left) are: Prime Minister John Key, Sarah Walker, Ben Batterbury and chief judge Graham Hawkes.

Prime Minister Right Hon Jon Key was on hand at the Upper Clutha A&P Show in Wanaka to select the nation’s best lamb in March.

The Prime Minister joined the judging panel for the 2012 Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Golden Lamb Awards (Glammies) at the A&P show in March. Others on the panel were 2011 Supercross World Cup Champion, Sarah Walker, 2012 B+LNZ ambassador chef Ben Batterbury and chief judge and Invercargill chef Graham Hawkes.

Don Morrison of Gore with his Growbulk lamb was named as 2012 Grand Champion, taking home a cheque for $2,000, the Glammies Grand Champion trophy plus a bottle of Mt Difficulty pinot noir wine. Each finalist won a plaque showing their placing.

The Glammies, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Genetics, attracted a record 150 entries which all underwent testing at Carne Technologies. Factors such as tenderness, colour and succulence were tested to determine the top twenty finalists tasted in Wanaka.

The competition is supported by processing plants across the country, including: Alliance, Ashburton Meat Processors, Auckland Meat Processors, Blue Sky Meats (NZ) Ltd, Land Meat NZ Ltd, Silver Fern Farms and Taylor Preston.

Published in Food NZ magazine (April/May 2012).