Conferences highlight growth opportunities

I believe the opportunities in front of us as a country are bigger than we have ever had, but the need for change is also bigger than we have faced for a long time – and herein lies the challenge.

I recently had the privilege of attending or reviewing several primary industry conferences around the country. Key themes of these conferences included: • The environment and the urgent need to reverse the alarming damage happening to our planet.

There are opportunities here as well: to produce food and fibre with a low or zero carbon footprint; and to ensure wool benefits from a swing to natural products. • The disruption from synthetic alternative proteins that are forecast to be significantly cheaper than what we produce. We were told we will struggle to compete at the commodities end and must be high-end producers. • The connection the customer has with where they spend their money and the effect the products they consume have had on the environment or society. Customers do not want to just buy a “product”, they want to buy something that is having a positive impact on the world and from suppliers that are doing the right thing. The big shift to whole foods / healthy foods / food as medicine is positive for NZ provided we can prove our produce and systems align with their values. Some attending farmers felt a mindset change due to a better understanding of what the consumer wanted. They felt more connected with their “why”, less concerned about what was coming at them and more focused on what they wanted to do for the environment. It was great to be reminded of our ability to farm in a low carbon manner – we have the lowest carbon footprint per kg milksolids in the world by almost a factor of two.

Thought leadership from Farmlands’ Director of Growth and Innovation, Andrew Horsbrugh, on the progress that's been made and the need to maintain the momentum.

| There are huge opportunities in food produced naturally and sustainably.

Every landowner I know wants to leave their farm or orchard in a better condition than they received it.”

Our producers and marketers are connected with our customers and are showing us the way. There are huge opportunities in natural products solving environmental issues, such as wool replacing plastics and whole and healthy food being produced naturally and sustainably. Other attendees commented that while it was exciting to hear what our end customer wants and what we need to do to stay at the premium end, they were concerned about how they could personally do all this on top of everything else coming at them. So how do we close this gap between what we need to do and having the resources available to do it? Every landowner I know wants to leave their farm or orchard in a better condition than they received it. We know that some historical practices need to change and we are changing them. We heard at the conferences that most legislation is a subset of what the customer wants so we are all aligned in the need for these changes. We just need a little help. My key ask of the legislators is that they c-oordinate their activities so that required changes occur in a rational, practical manner and that changes are accompanied with a clear “why”. Much frustration occurs when changes are not practical, not recognising work already done or when they work counter to each other. Please do not create labour scarcity, particularly when we need more labour to deal with all the changes. Please also remind the whole of NZ that we seek the same outcome, are making progress and are all in this together. To the processers and marketers: The positive energy and directions that come from your conferences are infectious. Thanks for keeping us connected with the customer and their needs and for telling us what we are doing well and what we need to do better.

To Farmlands shareholders: Please let us know how we at Farmlands can help. What are the new products or services we can provide to help you meet your evolving requirements? Most importantly, thank you for what you are doing every day on your land and for what is often not appropriately recognised. Thank you for the positive way you are working through the many changes required, as we still have much to do. These actions are securing our reputation for supplying the world with premium products and helping us look after the planet for the next generation.

Andrew grew up on a sheep and beef farm in the Wairarapa and now farms in Canterbury. This article is from Andrew’s perspective as a landowner, Farmlander and Farmlands shareholder.