New Zealand’s red meat products over the next three to five years.
We need to be ready and prepared to face these challenges together.
That’s why, over five weeks in June and July, we asked sheep and beef farmers for their views on a proposed increase to sheep meat and beef levies.
As a board we recognised the significance of what we were seeking from farmers.
Although the proposed increases fell within the range supported by farmers in the 2015 Commodity Levies Act referendum they still represented the first levy rise in six years.
We are also acutely aware that some farmers are concerned about rising compliance and costs and some farming families are facing an uncertain future with Mycoplasma bovis. By the same token, we know some farmers are very optimistic about the future.
Beef + Lamb NZ thought long and hard about going out to farmers at such a difficult time but we believed the rate of change and the challenges ahead meant there was a limited window of opportunity for us to try to get ahead of the curve.
Last week B+LNZ announced 63% of respondents to the consultation supported the proposed levies increase.
In making the decision to proceed with the increase the board was encouraged not just by the level of support for the rise but also the interest shown by farmers in the consultation.
This was the highest number of submissions from any consultation process outside of the referendum.
It’s now our job to ensure these additional levies are invested wisely in our programmes so we can deliver better outcomes for sheep and beef farmers.
The international activation of the Taste Pure Nature origin brand represents an important opportunity for the sector. We have just had a team in China and the United States and are now working with companies on how Taste Pure Nature will be activated.
We hope to share this plan with farmers in the next few months.
A number of initiatives to help the sector lift its environmental performance are already under way and the new investment will mean we can accelerate that work.
It includes an expedited delivery of the Land and Environment Plan refresh to cater for new needs farmers have, such as biodiversity and carbon emissions, which we now expect to deliver from early next year.
With the levy increase, B+LNZ can also step up its support for farmers operating in catchment groups. A new programme is being developed and farmers will begin gaining access to new resources and additional support over the coming months.
It is also vital we tell the farmer story better so over the course of the next few months we will be developing a plan for how we can do this, including surveying consumer and public perceptions of the sector and identifying research that can assist in telling our story better.
We are also conscious that we cannot tell our story alone and our plan will include how we can help farmers to tell their own stories.
I’m a Southland sheep and beef farmer so for me, personally, the M bovis incursion underlines the importance of strengthening B+LNZ’s internal capability to prepare for future incursions or issues.
However, it’s important to remember the levy increase is separate to the industry’s share of the M bovis response.
The industry’s contribution to funding the M bovis response costs is being negotiated between B+LNZ and DairyNZ and will likely be raised by a separate biosecurity levy.
Ultimately, the consultation was a valuable exercise for the B+LNZ board and we have listened to the feedback.
Farmers really took the time to provide detailed feedback on what B+LNZ proposes.
While there is support for the need to invest additional funds in the four proposed areas, some farmers felt B+LNZ should be spending more.
But, on the other side, a range of farmers believes B+LNZ doesn’t need an increase. They are concerned about rising cost pressures on their farms and worried about possible duplication.
We do need to avoid replicating the work of others and we will continue working closely with DairyNZ and Federated Farmers and other partners to ensure our environmental work is co-ordinated.
The environment team really stepped up its engagement with other partners earlier this year as part of the development of the environment strategy. We met people we had never met before and this collaboration will continue.
Where possible, such as with Taste Pure Nature, we will be looking to leverage extra investment and will measure the results of the additional investment.
We will not be doing anything unless the companies support it.
We need to demonstrate a return on investment and we will be developing metrics to measure progress on the activation of Taste Pure Nature and intend to provide farmers with continued progress on the additional investments.
B+LNZ accepts it needs to ensure it is prudent with this additional investment. First and foremost, this is farmers’ money and we take our responsibilities towards this extremely seriously.
Over the next 12 months we will be working hard to ensure we have farmers’ backs and that the additional levies are invested in a way we can maximise the benefit for the sector.
