First Light Foods managing director Gerard Hickey says the programme’s success is also being credited with achieving the goal of paying suppliers an average of $7.25 a kilo for qualifying Wagyu beef this year.
The Marbled Grass-Fed Beef project has helped drive a seismic shift in consumer perception of NZ pasture raised beef, which, in turn, has allowed First Light to nurture closer links between consumers and producers.
The $23 million project, which ended late last year, received $11 million from the Ministry for Primary Industries with the balance coming from First Light Foods, First Light Wagyu NZ and Brownrigg Agriculture.
The project coincided with meat industry moves to focus on payment for meat quality and its eating attributes and not solely for yield.
That general shift in farmer attitude has also seen 500 First Light suppliers commit to three-year supply contracts with the company, Hickey says.
The PGP enabled First Light to test how to convince consumers to pay premium prices for the marbling and eating attributes of grass-fed NZ beef along with its other attributes of being free of genetically modified organisms and antibiotics, its provenance, health benefits and NZ’s high animal welfare standards.
The project also created a new beef product from crossing Wagyu genetics over NZ dairy and Angus cows with the progeny finished on grass.
First Light Wagyu beef was last year named the best beef in the world by Forbes magazine.
“The world’s best beef comes from a dairy-beef-cross cow,” Hickey said.
That recognition and the results of the Marbled Grass-Fed Beef programme have given the partners a blueprint to work from.
”We have a proven model for the supply of calves from the dairy industry, a proven model to go directly to the markets we operate in and the knowledge and insights to produce marbled grass-fed beef year-round.”
Using Wagyu genetics over dairy cows has reduced the number of bobby calves while increasing the return to breeders from $30 for a dairy calf to $200 for a crossbred.
“Working hand-in-hand with the dairy industry we’re able to ensure sufficient Wagyu-cross dairy calves are sourced each year to meet forecast market demand,” Hickey says.
“Around 22,000 calves were born last year and we’re expecting to grow that number to 30,000 in the future.”
First Light has created a short, direct supply chain to consumers, bypassing importers and distributors.
The Steak Club is a subscription service for a small number of high-net worth United States customers who are supplied beef with a high marble score of six or above.
Now the partners are using the study results to capture further premium prices.
“We also plan to lead the way on improving returns to farmers, enabling sustainable farming and maintaining our laser focus on quality, transparency, welfare and caring for the environment that nurtures and grows our world-famous beef,” he said.
