Silver Fern Farms has defended the payment of premiums for certain breeds of lamb, saying the market paid more for certain animals which met certain criteria reports The ODT. Farmers have criticised the meat co-operative for paying farmers a 10c a kg premium for Primera-bred lambs supplied under contract to Marks and Spencer, but Silver Fern Farms said to qualify, the lambs had to meet standards demanded by the supermarket chain.  SFF livestock manager Grant Howie said lamb breed was just one criterion demanded by Marks and Spencer.

Suppliers also had to monitor their carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, land management impact and have plans for the environment, quality assurance, animal welfare and food safety, he said. “This is the old market averaging model versus the new integrated-market led model. When it comes to the Marks and Spencer programme, there is more value in the total programme than an average market programme.”

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