That is all about to change.
Beef + Lamb NZ is holding a workshop on March 1 and 2 at which a wide group of industry participants – farmers, Government, processors and exporters – will gather to start formulating the detail of the story, assisted by a strong line-up of guest speakers with international experience in brand development.
Over the last 18 months B+LNZ has focused on implementing its market development action plan arising from extensive consultation with levy payers.
The most obvious change was to close marketing offices in mature markets like the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea where exporters already have much deeper relationships with customers and feedback from farmers and exporters suggested funds could be better spent in other ways and in developing markets with greater potential.
The change in focus has resulted in the creation of three new roles: one with responsibility for the development and implementation of the Red Meat Story, a market research specialist to focus on consumer insights and a market innovation specialist charged with capturing new market benefits.
Detailed research has been gathered through interviews with farmers of different ages, farm types and ownership structures throughout the country about their story, as well as with selected worldwide customers to find out why they buy NZ beef and lamb.
According to B+LNZ market development general manager Nick Beeby, who has overall co-ordination accountability for the programme, the Red Meat Story is about more than growing NZ’s share of global consumption.
It is also about building credibility for our red meat with consumers in competition with other forms of protein.
Therefore, it is crucial to ensure the story’s building blocks are all in place, which is where the work of the Red Meat Profit Partnership comes into play.
The development of the NZ Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) is progressing well with RMPP partners, ANZCO, Alliance, Silver Fern Farms, Progressive Meats and Greenlea Meats along with Deer Industry NZ all looking to adopt the same base line standards. Discussions with other meat companies are also in hand.
Anzco has begun rolling out the FAP and a further six processors will have done so by the end of March and another before the end of May.
Meat companies supplying certain retailers or food manufacturers already have their own FAPs in place but the establishment of a common NZ standard programme across the whole industry will enhance the credibility of the NZ red meat brand with international customers.
It will then be possible to lift the standard to meet customer demands.
Another important step is the Ministry for Primary Industries’ authorisation for the RMPP to work with OSPRI on developing an electronic animal status declaration process that would ultimately help to overcome the loopholes in the NAIT system.
A trial is about to be done at SFF Finegand to establish how successfully the EASD will replace the less-than-perfect manual ASD.
Once the robustness of the farmer-to-processor transaction has been tested, attention will turn to farmer-to-saleyard and farmer-to-farmer transactions.
Traceability is an essential component because it is a mandatory building block without which a credible red meat story has no firm foundation.
Another important element of the red meat story, particularly for the European Union in the event of the anticipated free-trade negotiations, will be how NZ addresses the question of protected geographical indication (PGI) for which a series of environmental, animal welfare and production standards will be necessary.
All the brand image-building in the world backed by spurious claims to be clean and green or 100% pure will count for very little unless the claims can be backed up by a robust farm-assurance programme underpinned by electronic ASDs and a cast-iron traceability system for all red meat.
If this is to be achieved, the industry must grasp the nettle or, mixing metaphors, address the elephant in the room.
When deer and beef are comprehensively covered by electronic traceability and the red meat sector subscribes to a uniform FAP sheep must surely be brought into the traceability system.
The inclusion of sheep traceability is also likely to form a necessary part of any PGI application.
The cost to farmers of introducing sheep traceability is an issue the Government will have to confront full-on if the Red Meat Story is to achieve its prime objective of gaining consumer trust in the NZ brand.
There are also encouraging signs the long hoped for mirage of industry co-operation for the national good mighjt be getting closer.
