A $151 million project to reinject life into New Zealand's red meat industry was announced in Wellington this morning with a goal to provide a net economic benefit of more than $500 million.Dunedin-based meat processor Silver Fern Farms, state owned corpo
A $151 million project to reinject life into New Zealand’s red meat industry was announced in Wellington this morning with a goal to provide a net economic benefit of more than $500 million.
Dunedin-based meat processor Silver Fern Farms, state owned corporate farmer Landcorp and rural services and supplies company PGG Wrightson alongside the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) have presented a seven-year programme focusing on red meat consumers first and developing the products they require.
The partnership is heavily critical of the current supply and animal procurement driven model.
Silver Fern Farms chairman Eion Garden said at a press conference this morning the current red meat model was broken and needed fixing.
“We’ve paid lip service for many years about being market led but it’s not working,” he said.
Part of the project was about aligning farmers with consumer preferences and will have a heavy focus on improving on-farm productivity in terms of genetics and capability.
SFF chief executive Keith Cooper said talks continued after the failed merger between his company and PGG Wrightson about three years ago and discussions with the other partners have been further developing the programme over the past 18 months.
The joint-venture programme will be run through a new company called FarmIQ Systems.
Silver Fern Farms is contributing 45% or $68 million of the total over the next seven years while PGG Wrightson and Landcorp will provide a mix of capital, in kind skills and advisory, nutritional expertise and resourcing across the projects.
The government will provide the remainder of the investment through the Primary Growth Partnership fund.
