Supporting NZ lamb in China

SILVER Fern Farms’ Anna Nelson is back from China, after travelling there for her latest role.

Now governor of the board of the company’s joint Chinese New Zealand venture; she visited Shanghai as part of that responsibility.

It was her first trip to that country, the Āria-based vet, and sheep and beef farmer, said.

At the time of this interview Anna was making one of her many journeys through the King Country – when we spoke, she was at Hangatiki, driving from Ōtorohanga to Piopio in between meetings and workshops.

The reasons for the China trip went back a year and a half, she said.

She was originally appointed to the SFF board as a farmer director in October 2021; then this year Anna went through an election process.

“Being an elected director, you can be appointed onto the joint venture Chinese New Zealand owned company.

It is 50% owned [Silver Fern Farms] New Zealand, 50% owned by the Chinese company Shanghai Maling.”  

Her role was one of leadership.

“I’m a governor of the board of the Chinese venture. I am responsible for the direction, and the actions of the company,” Anna said.  

She now fronted a board of ten directors, five from the New Zealand part of the cooperative and five from the Shanghai Maling, the Chinese owners.  

“Hence the reason for my trip up to China, to Shanghai to meet our new partners.”

It had been necessary for people from both countries to get together, because – as in many corporate environments – the board experienced normal turnover.  

“It brings opportunities, right? Fresh ideas, fresh perspectives,” she said.  

Anna’s own driving purpose in taking on the role was to ensure the sustainability of the rural sector in years to come: for the next generation including her own three children – who all wanted to be livestock farmers.  

“Our rural communities and our farming businesses have a great future,” she said.

“New Zealand companies like Silver Fern Farms have the ability to market our product to the right customers around the world in a way that tells our story, and enables farmers to have a resilient and profitable future.

“The future of our rural communities and our family businesses, that’s my motivation.

“I really believe in understanding our consumer, our customer and delivering the products that they want. That’s super important.  

“As long as we’re all willing to adapt and change over time, we can absolutely provide the very best quality products, that the world needs.”  

Moving on to her travel memories, Anna said China had been different in her imagination.  

“It was different to what I expected ... loud and smelly and dirty and full of people. Really, really overcrowded.”

In fact, it was “none of those.”

“The areas we went to, and admittedly we only went to a small area within Shanghai ... it wasn’t like that. It was clean and there was an amazing number of EVs, so there wasn’t the pollution.”

The streets had been quiet, and the group had been told that it was illegal for locals in Shanghai to toot their horns.

The silence was such that  “you had to be careful not to be run down by an electric scooter or an electric car.”

And Chinese tea culture had been joined by a Kiwi favourite – coffee.

“There were coffee shops on every corner, too. It looked really strange ... that I was not expecting.”

Speaking of food and drink, the legendary Chinese hospitality was certainly in evidence.

“We ate a lot of banquets.

“They hosted us very graciously, and they were extremely welcoming.”

The topics of conversation, unsurprisingly, covered trade relationships between China and New Zealand.  

“We got a message clearly that they were concerned about the US and global relations and that they very much wanted and needed to trade with New Zealand.”

The company’s Chinese arm expressed a degree of concern around international geopolitical tensions. However that message was positive when it came to New Zealand.    

“They really value New Zealand and the trade that they do with us.”  

And another thing Anna appreciated about the experience was what it allowed her to discover about the company’s overseas operations – both supply and demand sides.  

“There’s a lot to learn around the the Silver Fern business that’s completely new to me.

“What happens to our animals once they leave our farms ... what happens to the boxes, the cartons of meat?

“What’s [happening in] our processing plants?”

Anna said she looked forward to contributing to the future of farming.  

“We have got a business with a real focus on our future generations.”

By the decisions made at every board meeting, the company’s current leadership could create a resilient business, taking the next generation of farmers into the future.