It’s not an easy award to win, and to achieve his latest success Morison had to commit a year ahead to supplying a set number of lambs every fortnight, with those lambs being within set weight and fat content specifications.
The certificate he received with the trophy for winning the award notes that Morison’s certainty of best producer was 100%, his supply rate to specifications was 96.90%, the supply was year-round over 12 months, that he’s been an Atkins Ranch supplier for more than 10 years and the number of lambs he supplied for the year was 5791.
To meet the required specifications lambs need to be a minimum carcase weight of 18kg, with a maximum of 25.9kg. Payment for lambs heavier than that is capped a price per head.
The carcase needs to have a GR (fat content) of 3-15mm.
He says committing to a year-round supply has its challenges and sometimes requires a bit of juggling at certain times of the year.
Lambs bought in recently need to already be of a good size so they can be got away this month at the right size.
In early spring when lambs are growing quickly, Morison says he needs to keep a close eye on them otherwise he runs the risk of them going past the top of the weight specification.
There are five regular farmers who he buys stock from, mainly in Wairarapa, with the furthest away at Porangahau.
Buying from the same farmers means he knows what he is getting, while those farmers are also aware of what he is after, so there is some certainty all-round.
Morison attributes part of his success to the working relationship he has with PGG Wrightson livestock representative Mark Graham.
They’ve been working together for about 17 years and complement each other well, with Graham on the property a couple of times a week.
It was Graham who first suggested Morison should consider becoming an Atkins Ranch supplier about 14 years ago.
He has not regretted it, enjoying being part of what is a relatively small operation involving about 200 farmers that supplies the US retail market.
“You’re not just an account number, they know your name,” he said.
He’s also a believer in being able to provide traceability right through to the end market, believing that’s what consumers want, a trend he says will only become more pronounced in the future.
Atkins Ranch is a member of the Global Animal Partnership, a certification programme that aims for continual improvement of on-farm animal care.
As with all Atkins Ranch lamb, everything from Morison’s Haunui Trust operation is 100% grass-fed on GMO-free pasture with no added antibiotics or hormones.
His connection to the neighbourhood he lives in goes back a long way. He’s the sixth generation of his family to work in the area, himself starting on the family farm beside his father straight out of college in 1981.
His ancestors were among the second lot of settlers in Wairarapa, having come around the coast from Wellington in 1846.
Morisons Bush, which is just down the road, is named after the family.
A few years ago Morison refined his approach to the farm to focus even more on production and profit, which has helped him win the two awards.
It’s also given him a new lease on life.
