Meat & Wool New Zealand launches Referendum 09

Media Release
Embargoed to 4.00 pm 11 March 2009

Meat & Wool New Zealand launches Referendum 09

Meat & Wool New Zealand has put a discussion document to sheep and beef farmers, proposing more focus and six activity areas of levy-funded investment for the next five years.

Meat & Wool New Zealand Chairman, Mike Petersen launched the discussion document at Glen Islay Station, near Gore today, after closing the 2007-08 Annual General Meeting.

In August this year sheep, beef and dairy farmers will vote on whether or not to support the continuation of levy investments to fund the work of Meat & Wool New Zealand.

“The discussion document outlines our strategic view of the future and looks at our proposed future work in six key activity areas. They will form the basis of the discussion during an extensive consultation round to test farmers’ support for those investment areas.”

While a detailed whole-of-sector strategy will guide how the new organisation acts and where it invests, Meat & Wool New Zealand is proposing these activity areas:-

Leadership, representation and influence
Information and analysis
Innovation and uptake
Market access
Market development
Skills and education
 

Mr Petersen said Meat & Wool New Zealand will make sure that all projects undertaken have the potential for a high return on investment, through adding value or decreasing risk.

“We’ll also continue to build strong partnerships with industry and farmers to ensure relevance and the effective delivery of new science, tools and techniques that will lift the performance of the sector.

“We’re interested to hear from farmers about our ideas for accelerating uptake of existing technologies and knowledge. We are looking at a range of different technology transfer models in partnership with other entities to lift our effectiveness in this area.”

Mr Petersen said there would be an increased focus on providing relevant information and analysis of data to benefit farmers and the wider industry.

Meat & Wool New Zealand’s regional team provides support for farmers at a local level and the organisation is looking at decentralising other parts of the business that could be closer to farmers and other stakeholders where they deliver more benefit.

“Market access continues to be an important area too with over 90 per cent of our meat and wool products exported to overseas markets. It’s critical that we are able to enter markets with the least possible impediment.  Arguably, this our most important activity area as we work with the Government and advise on sector priorities.”

Meat & Wool New Zealand believes there is an ongoing need to invest farmer levies to support market development in key existing and emerging markets.  Investment on a dollar for dollar basis with commercial companies continues to be an important principle.

“To date commercial investment in our joint venture programmes has grown from $255,000 in the 2004-05 year to in excess of $1.3 million in the 2007-08 year. We are seeing with the Emerging Markets programme that increasingly farmer levies can be used as glue to bring like minded companies together.”

Meat & Wool New Zealand signalled that following the Wool Industry Network strategy development, it would review the need for a levy on wool.

“It’s our view that the industry has not yet transformed sufficiently and there remains a strong argument to support limited market development for wool, along the same lines as our joint venture market development for meat. We want to know if farmers feel the same.”

Mr Petersen said attracting good people to the industry and investing in its future leaders was an important part of the sector retaining its competitive edge and so this would be an area of investment.

Land use change will dramatically alter the stock numbers for levying purposes over the next six years.

“If our total investment programme was funded by levies and smaller New Zealand Meat Board grants, which is likely because of lower interest income, then the levy ranges required with be beef at slaughter $5.50 - $6.00 per animal, sheep at slaughter 60 cents – 80 cents per animal, and wool at the first point of sale 5 cents per kg.”

Mr Petersen said the discussion document also posed the question to farmers, did they want to reduce the number of farmer directors on the Meat & Wool New Zealand Board. Feedback is required on the proposal to reduce the number of farmer directors from six to four, with two elected directors from each of the North and South Island. Meat & Wool New Zealand is still strongly supportive of the retention of the meat industry nominated directors to assist with better decision-making.

All sheep, beef and diary farmers on the Meat & Wool New Zealand Referendum Roll will receive the discussion document in the next two weeks.  With the document will be the consultation timetable and venues.

“I urge farmers to read the document so that they understand what Meat & Wool New Zealand is outlining for the future of our industry.  We need farmers to provide us with feedback during the consultation round, and this feedback will be incorporated into the final proposal on which farmers will be asked to vote in August this year.”

ENDS

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