The development of a unified NZ wool assurance standard has been established under the NZ Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP), with 15 wool companies signing up to the programme.
The NZFAP provides assurances to customers and consumers about the integrity, traceability, biosecurity, food safety, environmental sustainability, and animal health and welfare of NZ’s primary sector products.
The 15 wool companies are joining the 17 red meat processors, one other wool company, a sheep milk company, Beef + Lamb NZ and Deer Industry NZ already in the programme.
The collaboration enables the wool industry members to adopt the NZFAP as a NZ National Standard for wool.
There are currently about 8000 NZFAP-certified sheep, beef and deer farmers, with about 6500 farming sheep.
Membership of the NZFAP means that all registered wool companies will immediately have access to farm-assured wool from these 6500 properties.
For farmers there is no change, as the wool standards are already included in the NZFAP audits.
NZ Farm Assurance Incorporated (NZFAI), which owns the NZFAP, and the National Council of NZ Wool Interests (NCNZWI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which paved the way for membership.
NCNZWI chair Craig Smith hails it as a great opportunity for the wool industry to leverage off the NZFAP foundation.
He says the development of a unified NZ wool assurance standard will support increased differentiation and demand for NZ wool in the global marketplace.
“This provides the value-chain assurances we need around land management, origin, traceability, animal health and welfare, and gives us the ability to work with the red meat sector to make this happen,” Smith said.
“Initially we have 15 of the largest wool companies across key points in the supply chain signed up to the programme, with the expectation that more will follow.
“The wool sector has been underperforming in what has been a challenging consumer market, but this move creates a unique and compelling value proposition for NZ wool by leveraging on the provenance and world-leading practices that occur here.”
Smith acknowledged the NZFAI’s determination and effort to make this happen and for the initial funding contribution made by Strong Wool Action Group Ltd (SWAG) and the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund (SFFF) that covers the establishment of the NZFAP programme for wool and the first year of farm audits.
NZFAI chair Nick Beeby says extending the NZFAP certification to wool companies galvanises the primary industry’s collaborative power into a single and robust NZ assurance story.
“We’re all telling the same origin and assurance story, which the wool exporters can now share with their discerning manufacturers and retail brand owners,” Beeby said.
“This initiative creates a single multi-sector assurance standard, eliminates duplication and further reduces cost, which have been NZFAI priorities from the beginning.”
The adoption of the NZFAP as a national standard for wool will also help to drive consistency in grower standards and provide a platform for the standardisation of NZ wool, which can command a price premium for the benefit of growers and accredited companies in the value chain.
Beeby says it represents an opportunity for greater penetration and recognition internationally, not only for the red meat sector but also for the NZ wool industry.
With its focus on helping to lift the NZ strong wool sector out of a prolonged period of low prices, SWAG chair Rob Hewett welcomes the wool quality assurance programme.
He says most sheep farmers are familiar with the quality assurance programme for meat that has been running for many years.
“Adding wool to that programme is quite frankly a no-brainer,” Hewett said.
“We are very happy to support this addition to the NZFAP initiative, as well as the whole NZFAP programme in general, and look forward to seeing the programme advance into years two and three with support and financing from NCNZWI.”
The NZFAP is a national farm assurance programme originally developed under the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP), a joint Primary Growth Partnership initiative between the NZ red meat sector and the NZ Ministry for Primary Industries, but now owned and managed by NZFAI.
