BRUCE WILLS - CHAIRMAN FEDERATED FARMERS MEAT & FIBRE

NAIT
A warm welcome to the second issue of RamBull for 2009. The focus of this issue is NAIT. RamBull has been brought forward because the Executive feels it is very important that you are well informed on the issue of NAIT before the Meat & Wool New Zealand AGM. Two Federated Farmers initiated remits are to be voted on at the AGM. The remits, and the reasons why I believe they should be supported, are presented below.

The two remits are:
Remit 2 [Proposer - Lachlan McKenzie]: "That Meat & Wool New Zealand cease spending levy money on the NAIT concept." 

Remit 3 [Proposer - Bruce Wills]: "That Meat & Wool New Zealand support an independent democratic referendum on the NAIT proposal" 

As a key industry stakeholder, Federated Farmers has been involved in the NAIT initiative since its inception and we have been supportive of the concept in principle. However, with the publication of the NAIT Discussion Document in June 2008, the scope of the system, and its manifold deficiencies, were publicly revealed. That crystallised our concerns about the process as it stands. We are very appreciative of the position of the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon David Carter, who has said that no final commitment has been made to the scheme and that the outcome of the second stage business case will be critical to the decision-making process. Mr Carter also stated that "the last thing this Government wants to do is impose unnecessary costs on farm businesses..... The economics of any scheme must be affordable." 

We keenly await the publication of the second-stage business case in June this year. In the interim, however, I strongly urge you to read the information provided here and to vote on the remits either in person, by postal vote* or by assigning your proxy votes* at the AGM.  

*These votes must be received by Androula Dometakis, the Board Secretary of Meat & Wool New Zealand, PO Box 121, Wellington, by 5pm, Friday 6^th March 2009.

For more information please contact Meat & Fibre chairman, Bruce Wills, 027 234 1516, bwills@fedfarm.org.nz

THE ‘NAIT REMITS' TO BE VOTED ON AT THE 2009 MEAT & WOOL AGM
NAIT is being developed by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) to "provide New Zealand livestock owners, processors and Government with timely and quality information on the current location, movement history and other key attributes associated with livestock**." Additionally, the driving force behind it is specified as "the necessity to make individual identification and tracing work for the good of all participants and to protect New Zealand in the marketplace**."

** From the June 2007 NAIT Discussion Document

Firstly, it is very important to remember that Federated Farmers is supportive of many of the issues that NAIT purports to address. For example:

• We are strongly in favour of an effective biosecurity policy that allows us, especially by means of effective border control measures, to maintain a market advantage arising from the absence of many of the animal and human disease risks that exist elsewhere in the world.
• We are in favour of traceability schemes that are market led and deliver a commercial advantage for processors and farmers in the marketplace.
• We produce safe food that meets or exceeds consumers' expectations and our very high standards in this area are recognised internationally. New Zealand has one of the best and safest food production systems in the world.
• We support mechanisms that facilitate trade access and note that the international community is obliged to apply a scientific, risk-based approach when considering market access issues.

Overall, though, Federated Farmers is not yet convinced that a case has been adequately made for NAIT and believe that the proposal should be reassessed.

The reasons for this are:

1.  There is a clear need to have a comprehensive and robust needs analysis carried out in the areas of biosecurity and trade access. The work done to date in this area, which should underpin the whole process, is unsatisfactory.
   
2. An independent review of overseas experience with similar systems needs to be carried out. Our anecdotal information is that systems introduced overseas are more expensive and much less efficient than has been claimed.
   
3. The financial modelling (‘cost benefit analysis') carried out for the first stage business case was badly flawed, both in its assumptions and in its failure to include major on-farm expenses such as compliance costs. Should a robust and comprehensive business case be made, which unequivocally showed that all farmers would benefit financially from investing in a "NAIT" system, this would be of considerable assurance to us.
   
4.  Any failure to include sheep in the initial proposal would make a nonsense of the suggestion that biosecurity is a driver for NAIT. In addition, a separate business case needs to be made for sheep as the economics of identification and traceability are very different from deer and cattle.
   
5.  There have been serious concerns raised about the suitability, for use with deer and sheep, of the electronic identification technology that NAIT is proposing to use.

We have a real concern that if the NAIT proposal is put in place for cattle and deer, then sheep will soon follow. The cost and compliance issues with sheep would be significant. Unless we can be convinced that there is economic benefit for our members we will continue to question why more costs and more compliance are to be compulsorily imposed on farmers for little or no economic return?

Support for the two remits Federated Farmers have proposed will ensure that no more farmers' money is spent on the proposal and provide much needed information about the level of support from farmers. 

For more information about Federated Farmers concerns with the NAIT proposal please click here to view our submission to NAIT on our website. 

MEAT & FIBRE EXECUTIVE MEETING HELD IN WELLINGTON
The Executive met on the 18 and 19 February to discuss issues facing our industry. In a change from recent meetings, the focus was on hearing from several other stakeholders. In particular, meetings were held with Meat & Wool New Zealand, Meat Industry Association and Wool Partners International. In addition, Federated Farmers Chief Executive, Conor English, met with the Executive as well. 

Following these meetings and internal discussions, the Executive decided on a draft work plan for the year. This will build on work presented earlier and the finished draft will be sent to Meat & Fibre Council Members prior to the June "One Event" to be held in Auckland. As might be expected from an industry that is coming off the back of several years of poor performance, the focus of the Meat & Fibre industry group is to work on areas that will improve members' profitability. This means that we will be working on:

 T150 - an announcement about an activity to kick-off the 2009 campaign is to be made shortly

NAIT - we will implement our strategy to promote our belief that the scheme should not proceed at this time

Meat and wool industries - we will continue to work with other stakeholders to promote the interests of farmers in these sectors

CLA Referendum - analysis to ensure members are well informed of the issues that will be voted on in August.

SHEARING HEALTH AND SAFETY
A National Health and Safety Committee has been established by shearing industry stakeholders, including the Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre chairman and ACC, to create and implement a strategy for the shearing industry to initiate systems and make the woolshed environment a safer place with fewer injuries. The recent publication of three posters providing information around Best Practice Guidelines for Wool Clip Preparation, Health and Safety and Communication is a win for farmers. In the absence of such material, the development of an audit and verification programme looking at woolsheds - at a probable direct cost to farmers - was very likely.

We will be sending a number of copies of these posters to the Meat & Fibre Council members. They can also be obtained, at no charge, from the website devoted to shearing and wool handling. To visit the ShearSmart NZ website please click here. 

We strongly urge all sheep farmers to obtain a copy of these posters, to put them up in their woolshed and, most importantly, to act on the information that is provided.

For more information please contact David Burt on 04 494 9182 or click here to email him.

Federated Farmers Farm Day: Sunday, 1 March - Planning is well underway for this exciting event. The theme for the day is "Discover the Country". The public will have an opportunity to visit one of 26 farms throughout the country on Farm Day. This event is well worth supporting and those Meat & Fibre members who have agreed to host a Farm Day are to be congratulated.

Meat & Fibre Conference and "One Event"
This will be held from Tuesday, 30 June to Thursday, 2 July at the Rendezvous Hotel in Auckland. In a break from tradition, the Meat & Fibre Conference will take place over one day on Tuesday, 30 June, with the second and third days of the event given over to a Plenary Session (featuring invited speakers) and the National Conference respectively. We believe that this will deliver a programme of greater interest to farmers and the wider industry. Members are encouraged to place these dates in your diaries and consider attending what will be an exciting event.

An Agenda is being developed for the Conference and preliminary notices will be sent out in March. 

Meat & Wool New Zealand AGM on 11 March
The Meat & Wool New Zealand AGM is to be held at Glen Islay Station, near Gore, on 11 March. As well as the debate on the Federated Farmers sponsored NAIT focused remits discussed above, the AGM offers all levy payers the opportunity to meet with other farmers from around the country and to have your voice heard by this very important industry organisation.

The Minister of Agriculture, the Hon David Carter, will open the day and his address will be followed by operational updates from Meat & Wool New Zealand Chief Executive, Dr Scott Champion, and senior staff members.  Farmers will hear about the range of activities carried out in Meat & Wool New Zealand's five programme areas. These include Market Access, Market Services, Farm Productivity Research and Adoption, Skills and Education and Environment.

To obtain a meeting Agenda and voting form please click here. 

Commodity Levy Act Referendum 2009
Meat & Wool New Zealand must conduct a referendum at least every six years to show that payment of levies is supported by a majority of levy payers. The next referendum will be held this year. Make sure you're enrolled to vote so you can have your say. To obtain an enrolment form please click here to visit the Meat & Wool New Zealand website.

Meat & Wool New Zealand Director Elections for 2009 - voting closes 2pm Wednesday, 4 March
Meat & Wool New Zealand will conduct director elections in two of its electoral districts this year.

Three nominations have been received for the Northern North Island district. They are Tom Mandeno, of Tuakau (incumbent), James Parsons, of Broadwood and James Reeves, of Hamilton. Two nominations have been received in the Northern South Island district. They are Peter Chamberlain, of Norwood and Andrew Fox, of Amberley (incumbent).

Voting is now open and closes at 2pm on Wednesday, 4 March 2009. To cast your vote, please click here to visit the Meat & Wool secure election website. Please note you will need your unique PIN and password as they appear on your voting paper.

Special discounts - To find out more about special discounts for members call 0800 327 646 or please click here to visit Federated farmers website. 

Contracts and agreements - Members can purchase Federated Farmers contracts and agreements at a discounted rate. To purchase please click here or call 0800 327 646.

If you have any questions or comments about matters raised in this newsletter please click here to contact a member of the Meat & Fibre Council or call our policy advisor, David Burt on 0800 327 646 or please click here to email him.