Bruce wills - Chairperson Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre
It is with mixed feelings that I make my last contribution to Rambull as Chairman of Meat & Fibre. A sadness that three years has gone by so quickly but a satisfaction that we have made progress since June 2008. About that time an idea called T150 was born, the same year that here on the hills of Napier we averaged $59 for our better export lambs, the same year that Meat & Fibre farmers suffered their poorest profitability in 50 years.

Three years on things are looking better, confidence has returned on the back of greatly improved returns. My most recent line of lambs sold for $149 - I just wish we had more of them!

There has been much angst and debate about our meat and wool issues over these years. We almost had meat company consolidation; we almost had a farmer owner wool co-op. The need for change has been well and truly recognised.

Current better prices are in large part due to our past failures. Prices are up due to considerably lower supply. The challenge now is to cement in these better prices and see sheep numbers lift. How do we do this? Well I am happy to tell you. The answer has just been put in front of us; it is called ‘The NZ Red Meat Sector Strategy'. I am also happy to tell you that it is a great read, all 167 pages!

This is a critically important document that must be read by all meat farmers, once you have read it I would implore you to participate in the behavioural changes suggested so that T150 really does become a long term reality for us all. With better current profitability we have a window of opportunity to take advantage of improved cash flow to make changes as outlined in the strategy.

Let's all take this chance to secure a better future for Meat & Fibre farmers.

All the best.

Bruce Wills
Chairperson
Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre
Mobile: 027 234 1516
Phone: 06 834 9704
Email: bwills@fedfarm.org.nz

2011 Meat & Fibre Conference, 29/30 June in Rotorua
This will be held on Wednesday, 29 June and the morning of Thursday, 30 June at the Distinction Rotorua. It will be followed by a Plenary Session and Awards Dinner on the Thursday afternoon and evening and the Federation's National Conference will follow on Friday, 1 July.  Planning is well underway for these events and the speakers confirmed for the Meat & Fibre conference include:

Craig Hickson, Managing Director of Progressive Meats and other meat processing companies and a Director of Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd.

Dave Moore, Research Ergonomist for the Risk and Design Team at Scion Research and an expert on quad bike safety.

Russell Burnard, the Chief Executive of NAIT Ltd.

The conference will also see the election of the Meat & Fibre Executive and consideration of any Remits and Discussion Items proposed by Meat & Fibre Council members. The development of the agenda is nearly complete and it will shortly be available on the Federated Farmers website.

Please note, the conference events are nearly fully booked. Members other than official delegates, designated observers and affililates are advised to contact David Burt before registering. 

Meat & Fibre Executive Meeting
The Executive will be meeting in Rotorua prior to the Conference on Tuesday 28 June.

Pre-Conference Tour
A pre-conference tour, taking in a few farms within the upper North Island is being organised as part of the conference programme. The tour will commence from Auckland on the morning of Tuesday, 28 June. The cost of travel to Auckland will be covered by Federated Farmers for delegates; however, the cost of accommodation used prior to National Conference, bus hire and all meals will be covered by the individual. The tour will end in Rotorua.

If anyone is interested in attending this event, please contact the Federated Farmers Dairy Policy Advisor, Ann Thompson athompson@fedafrm.org.nz, telephone 0800 327 646 in the first instance.

NAIT Bill
The Federation recently appeared before the Primary Production Select Committee to discuss the key issues in our submission on this Bill. The submission can be found at [link]. If you require a hard copy of our submission, please contact David Burt, the Meat & Fibre Policy Advisor dburt@fedfarm.org.nz or by telephone on 0800 327 646.

Draft NAIT Regulations
Draft regulations are now available.  Click here to see them.  Alternatively, a hard copy may be obtained from David Burt on request.
The regulations describe in more detail how and when many of the various requirements of the NAIT Bill are to be met. Submissions on the regulations are due on Friday 27 May and the Federation will be submitting on this matter.

NAIT Requirements
Members are reminded that (and subject to the NAIT Bill being passed), requirements around the tagging of NAIT species will take effect from 1 November 2011 (for cattle) and from 1 March 2013 (for deer).

Until NAIT takes effect:
All cattle and deer moving off-farm need either an AHB approved primary tag or a yellow bar-coded direct to slaughter tag.
A NAIT approved RFID tag can also be fitted as a secondary tag

From the date NAIT takes effect:
The NAIT RFID tag becomes the primary tag. 
A tag of the type approved by AHB becomes the secondary tag. (AHB tags should not be removed.)  Both these tags are needed for off-farm movements other than direct to slaughter. A separate direct to slaughter tag is not needed - except for tags provided by meat processing companies  for bobby calves (animals less than 30 days old).

A recent (February 2011) document "Latest cattle tagging info" is available from NAIT by clicking here.  

Red Meat Sector Strategy Report
The report, funded primarily by Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd and the Meat Industry Association of New Zealand, was released on May 4.  A copy of the report may be obtained from the Federation's website by clicking here, feedback on the report may also be posted.

The Campaign For Wool
The Campaign For Wool (CFW) exists to promote the great properties of wool. If members wish, they can show their support by clicking here to join the CFW. 

Farm Dairy Effluent: System design and management -  A short course on the design and management of systems for land application of Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE) is now available through the Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre (FLRC) at Massey University. This is a three day short course for industry practitioners, rural professionals, regulatory and governance personnel and scientists engaged in providing advice relating to the design, management and auditing of farm dairy effluent systems.  For further information, to register your interest and to request an enrolment form, please click here.  Places on the courses are limited.

Expand your staff's knowledge of cattle breeding in the run up to calving - Learn the fundamentals of breeding and producing healthy livestock with AgITO's National Certificate in Agriculture (Cattle Breeding) (Dairy Cattle Farming) (Level 3).  Topics covered include; mating, calving and rearing calves and young stock. You'll learn to understand the selection processes for breeding cattle, understand cattle reproduction and the best ways to achieve top conception rates, identify cows on heat and understand the process of calving and associated health issues.  To enrol or find out more, contact your local AgITO training adviser today on 0800 691 111 or visit www.agito.ac.nz.

Employment contracts and advice -  Federated Farmers work in conjunction with farming industry groups and an international legal organisation to ensure that all  the contracts and agreements we sell are current and appropriate for the rural sector.   These are available to members for $50 plus GST for a pack of two contracts.  If members would like additional assistance, extra information and support please phone 0800 FARMING (0800 327 646) Don't forget, the first 15 minutes of this advice is absolutely free to our members. Ensure  you purchase employment contracts from a reliable source and one that offers follow up support if and when you need it. 

Member benefits and offers - To view special discounts exclusive to Federated Farmers members, please call 0800 327 646 or click here to log onto our members only area.

Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre
Please remember that if you have any issues or queries you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact Federated Farmers on 0800 FARMING (327 646) or contact your local Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre representative or one of the executive team as listed below.

Head Office
PO Box 715
Wellington 6140
Tel:  04 473 7269
Fax: 04 473 1081
www.fedfarm.org.nz

Staff contact - David Burt
Tel:  0800 327 646
Fax: 04 473 1081
Email: dburt@fedfarm.org.nz

Chairperson - Bruce Wills
Tel/Fax:  06 834 9704
Mobile:   027 234 1516
Email: bwills@fedfarm.org.nz

Vice-chairperson - Jeanette Maxwell
Tel:         03 302 8860
Fax:        03 302 8849
Mobile:   027 357 4464
Email: aandjmax@xtra.co.nz

Executive members:

Hamish Cave
Tel:         06 863 9861
Fax:        06 863 9500
Mobile:   027 687 1141
Email: hamishc@gisborne.net.nz

Tim Mackintosh
Tel:  07 322 1039
Email: timmack@xtra.co.nz

Dugald McLean
Tel/Fax:  03 313 5442
Email: mcleanfam@xtra.co.nz

A full list of the Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre team can be found by clicking here.