They could be accused by farmers of overoptimism, but farming leaders remain upbeat about the future of red meat production, while warning that investment was needed in marketing and markets diversified. M&WNZ chief executive Scott Champion told a recent SFF sheep and beef forum in Gore the fundamentals for red meat remained strong, and the number of affluent customers who wanted to eat red meat was growing.

With the world’s population expected to hit eight billion by 2030, global food production needed to double, and Mr Champion said while NZ could not feed the world, it had to decide exactly for who it was going to produce food reports The ODT. The population in existing red meat markets was static or falling, so it was likely new consumers would be in China, Central Asia and Africa.

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In its annual NZ Agriculture in Focus report, the agribusiness bank says global demand for some agricultural commodities  such as dairy and sheepmeat  is increasing. General manager Ben Russell said that although global and domestic economic conditions seem to have turned a corner and were expected to gather momentum in 2010, the recovery remained fragile reports Stuff.

“While conditions have definitely been improving there remain a number of downside risks,” he said.”The NZ dollar remains high, inflicting serious head-winds on exporters, there are continuing tighter credit conditions and economic recovery remains subdued in key export markets, such as Japan and the United States.”

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A controversial scheme to tag and trace cattle and deer could trigger a hi-tech revolution boosting farm productivity and profit, according to some in the industry. But any sea change is unlikely to happen overnight reports Stuff.

Farmers are required to tag all deer and cattle with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips by the middle of 2011 after Cabinet approved the second-stage business case for the National Animal Identification and Tracing (Nait) scheme. Stock movements will be recorded in a database to track animals during outbreaks of disease and to tell consumers where meat comes from.

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Large amounts of water are crucial to NZ’s farming future, yet over the years we have failed to invest in the vital dams and irrigation infrastructure. Some parts of the country – like the east coasts of the North and South islands – are regularly hit by droughts. This year, however, it’s Northland and Central Otago that are suffering.

The Government, Federated Farmers and farmers around the country all agree water storage is urgently needed, yet Rural News has found that only two regional councils have made headway towards getting the infrastructure in place.

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A new genetic product, or SNP Chip, aimed at assisting sheep breeders and Angus beef breeders with molecular breeding values, has been launched in the United States and will be available in NZ later this year. The products are being commercialised by Pfizer Animal Health.

Sharl Liebergreen, the company’s technical service regional manager, said the technology was leveraged off the bovine genome sequencing, which allowed geneticists initially to use 50,000 DNA markers at once but would soon grow to 500,000 markers. By comparison, the dairy industry was using 500,000 gene markers reports The ODT.

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The chairman of the country’s largest meat company is urging farmers to take a long-term view of their industry and reject one-off price inducements from companies wanting their stock. Silver Fern Farms chairman Eoin Garden said with prime lamb prices back sharply from last season, the obvious kneejerk reaction from farmers was to take the best price offered for their stock on the day.

But, he warned, that ignored the need for the sector to make long-term structural changes which could only come by farmers supporting companies which were taking a long-term view, reported Meat Daily.

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Agriculture Minister David Carter was challenged to provide leadership in the divided meat and wool industry at a meeting of 100 farmers in Tapawera yesterday reports The Nelson Mail. Mr Carter told the farmers they too had to step up and make their voices heard, and he hinted that consolidation was in line for the fragmented wool industry.

Tui sheep and beef farmers Don and Kaye Register organised the meeting at the Tapawera Hotel because of frustration at low wool and meat returns. Mr Carter said to see so many turn up showed how stressed many sheep and beef farmers were, and that was the case around the country. However, he believed they were on the cusp of the most exciting time for food producers because of the increasing global food demand, and New Zealand’s ability to satisfy consumer demand for food security.

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Kakatahi farmer David “Tex” Matthews is fed up with waiting for wool’s fortunes to turn around. “If people aren’t going to use wool, I can’t see any point in growing it,” he says. He is building up a flock of woolless sheep on his 1800-hectare farm in the steep hills beside Whanganui’s tortuous Parapara highway reports The Dom Post.

Strong wool prices have been at historically low levels for most of the past decade, and although the industry is making a concerted effort to improve carpet and textile sales, the returns to farmers show no signs of moving. Mr Matthews is only one of what woolless-sheep breeder Joe Adams suspects is an increasing number of farmers willing to turn their backs on wool.

Mr Adams, who has a 220ha stud in the harsh hill country at Hihitahi, south of Waiouru, has bred what he calls a “never-shear” sheep by crossing two breeds that shed their wool – the wiltshire and the dorper. “The years when crossbred wool was a high-value commodity are long gone,” he says. “Now, there’s little return for a lot of work.”

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South Canterbury freezing works are cutting hours as lamb numbers dwindle. Low lamb numbers have forced freezing works to reduce hours for the past month reports The Timaru Herald. Silver Fern Pareora and Alliance Smithfield in Timaru are operating between 20 and 30 hours a week. Alliance Smithfield employs 475 people while about 730 work at the Silver Fern Pareora plant.

“It’s rather unusual for this time of the year as we’d normally expect to be busier,” Alliance Smithfield plant manager Dick Allen said. Mr Allen attributed reduced workflow to low demand for stock kill and because many farmers were electing to put weight on stock before it went to sale. He said lamb shortages were affecting other plants across the South Island and was not sure how long it would go on.

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Dairy giant Fonterra is extending its reach into China, negotiating to lease land by mid-year for two more NZ -style dairy farms in the world’s largest emerging dairy market. Fonterra China managing director Philip Turner said with the firm’s pilot farm in Hangu, in Hebei province, performing profitably ahead of schedule and producing record levels of milk, the time was right for further investment.

The China dairy market is forecast to show double-digit annual growth over the next 10 years reports Stuff. The domestic dairy industry was developing quickly but the current supply of high-quality fresh milk could not keep up with demand, Mr Turner said from Beijing. “Some of the big companies are running large-scale production facilities of their own but the number of farms in China at our level of quality and safety of milk production would be under 20.”

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