Attendees can start the day with breakfast at 8am then engage in the day-long conference with keynote speakers, followed by a pick-n-mix, choosing four sessions from a selection of 24 different topics.
Attendees can choose to attend just the breakfast, just the main conference or both.
B+LNZ western North Island extension manager Mel Poulton said discussion topics will include forages and pastures, animal production, genetics, innovation and technology, the global arena and business management.
“Given we are an exporting nation, we want to have a thread of global focus weaving through the keynote sessions,” Poulton said.
Ian Proudfoot, the global lead partner in agribusiness and food for KPMG, will provide some insight into the global environment the red meat sector is operating in.
Building on the global theme, recent Nuffield scholars will provide insights from their observations and explorations overseas.
The pick-n-mix sessions will include a live video link to B+LNZ North American regional manager Terry Meikle.
Meikle will provide an insight into managing relationships for NZ’s success, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, the Five Nations Beef Alliance and the Mexican sheep industry.
Other topics on offer include sheep milking, Maori agribusiness, forage genetic diversity, lambing hoggets on herbs and the efficiency and longevity of beef cows.
Sue McCoard from AgResearch will discuss the importance of early life nutrition for survival, growth and meat production while farmer Sam Morah will look into the production benefits of winter liveweight gain versus maintenance.
Graham Hawkes, Scott Kennedy, Sophie Pascoe and Sarah Walker judging the aroma during the 2014 Steak of Origin finals.
Steak of Origin
There will be more beef on the Beef Expo menu on Monday night May 11 during the search for NZ’s best steak.
Final Steak of Origin judging and dinner celebrations start at 6pm at Awapuni Racecourse. More than 300 entries were received this year.
The sirloin from all farmer entries is aged for three weeks before being tested for tenderness and colour, among other criteria. The top 20% of entries in each class go on to the semi-finals.
Each semi-finalist sirloin is coded anonymously and tasted by a panel of 12 judges at the Hospitality School at Auckland University of Technology to determine the 20 finalist steaks.
Grand final judges are NZ Chefs Association president Graham Hawkes, internationally respected food and wine writer Lauraine Jacobs, B+LNZ Iron Maiden and BMX Olympic rider Sarah Walker and B+LNZ ambassador chef Marc Soper.
