ANDREW Morrison, NZMB chairman, wants to hear how farmers feel about current efforts to boost profits and efficiency in the beef sector, including with genetics research. PHOTO SUPPLIED
FARMERS still have time to vote on the New Zealand Meat Board’s AGM items for discussion: one of which relates to a significant beef genetics programme.
“Informing New Zealand Beef” (INZB) provides hard economic feedback on various genetics options, such as sires selected for producing higher calving rates or faster finishing times, or lower methane production.
These farming efficiency gains would translate in real terms to farmers’ bottom lines, although without detailed finance information on the future He Waka Eke Noa levy, only part of the picture is currently apparent.
“We want to give farmers some oversight, and get some feedback,” NZMB chairman Andrew Morrison said, of the voting process.
Sheep and beef farmers should have received a joint NZMB-Beef + Lamb New Zealand mail-out with information on the NZMB online annual meeting on March 24 including the board’s proposal to keep supporting the seven-year initiative, Andrew said.
“New Zealand Beef is working to boost the sector’s profits by $460 million over the next 25 years by giving farmers the right genetic tools to help produce great tasting beef and drive efficiency on farm.
“The board has funded this programme, continuing to provide up to $1.4 million funding from investment income, as part of our Industry Good Funding through the $77.8 million of financial reserves that we manage on behalf of New Zealand farmers.
“We’re keen to hear farmers’ views on whether we should continue to support it.”
The program has “strong governance” Andrew said; the governance group was chaired by former Prime Minister Helen Clarke.
The board exists to help New Zealand achieve optimal returns on beef and sheepmeat exports to international quota markets, overseeing $2.3 billion of quotas.
Andrew said that the productivity of the sheep and beef sector had been exceptional since the economic reforms of the 1980s, through investment and science.
Sheep genetics had been an earlier large investment: and now it was the beef sector’s turn, whether that was traditional beef farming or dairy beef.
At the online AGM meeting, farmers will also hear from New Zealand’s Special Agriculture Trade Envoy Mel Poulton, a Tararua farmer and Nuffield Scholar.
Farmers can provide their feedback or register for the meeting by visiting: nzmeatboard.org/annual-meeting-2023.
Both internet and postal voting close at 2pm on Wednesday.
