Macfarelane, the Deer Industry New Zealand chairman from 2010-2017, was honoured for his leadership at the deer industry conference in Timaru.
He is principal of Macfarlane Rural Business agricultural consultancy and a member of the deer industry Passion 2 Profit (P2P) advisory group. He entered the deer industry with a single purpose – to put more money in the pockets of all participants.
He identified the scope of onfarm improvement and in-market value. The result was a $16m P2P programme.
Farmers were engaged, improving knowledge and profitability and industry players were capturing more value from the marketplace with new Cervena initiatives.
Macfarlane’s vision resulted in a unified front with clear goals and the industry is now reaping the rewards.
P2P advisory group chairwoman Mandy Bell said Macfarlane was pivotal in leading change in the industry.
“He has passionately given time and energy to set the industry on a very solid footing from pasture to plate.
“We are seeing unprecedented behaviour change in the farming stakeholders that is creating enduring value but is also setting up a different way to respond and act to challenges and change.
“This will be a critical positive for the industry in the next five to 10 years as the primary sector faces a number of significant external challenges,” Bell said.
“I believe that we will look back on this period as a significant, key event in the history of the industry moving from the entrepreneurship of the founders to a period of visionary consolidation.”
During his tenure Macfarlane inspired and led the industry into a critical evaluation of productivity, especially related to onfarm reproductive and growth performances relative to other livestock options.
With the board and then chief executive Mark O’Connor he established the Industry’s Productivity Improvement Programme.
It set out clear opportunities on deer farms to systematically improve performance and profitability through reducing waste and managing breeding, feeding and deer health.
While MacFarlane and his board led this process it has been inclusive of the Deer Farmers Association, deer farmers and the venison marketing sector from the start.
The DFA is one of several who nominated Macfarlane for the award.
“Andy’s contribution to the deer industry during his tenure as chairman has been huge,” DFA executive member John Somerville said.
“When he came onto the board and became chairman he saw an industry that was lacking in strategic direction.
“Productivity gains in large parts of the industry had been very poor and farmers were over-reliant on product price increases alone to improve profitability,” Somerville said.
Many farm systems hadn’t changed in decades and were unsuited to the modern competitive farming environment.
“Andy led his board to view the possibility of accessing government money through the PGP to help the industry achieve its goal of enabling farmers to improve onfarm productivity.
“The vision involved development through localised farmer groups backed by national projects involving themes around animal health, feeding and genetics.
“The PGP application also envisaged that accessing new venison market opportunities was an equal part of the equation and developed, ensuring that the industry proposal was accepted.”
When Macfarlane retired from the board the farmers Advance Parties groups were still growing and proving very successful in enabling farmers to upskill and the increased interaction helped increase farmer confidence, Somerville said.
New venison market opportunities through the rejuvenated Cervena appellation are being developed in Holland and Belgium.
The major plus in marketing is having all five main venison processors signed up.
“Retaining their individual company identity but working on a common goal is a first for any meat industry.”
Somerville said the entire P2P programme is the legacy of Macfarlane’s time as DINZ chairman.
“With the changes he has initiated and led in the deer industry Andy is a very strong and well-deserved winner for this year’s deer industry award.”
Humbled but “truly honoured”, Macfarlane said it was not all about him.
The success of his vision had been a very wide team effort, he said.
“It’s probably more that I was a leader in a good space at the right time to drive a vision that had to be and was shared and supported by all in the industry.
“I don’t believe I can take all the credit,” Macfarlane said.
