BULLETIN
ISSUE 27: Autumn 2020 ISSUE 31: Autumn 2021
RUB-A-DUB-DUB Being a butcher I could be forgiven for thinking collaboration was something you did in a tub with a baker and a candlestick maker … ’Rub-A-Dub-Dub three fools in a tub’ … seems harmless enough except for the occasional bubble and a rhyme or two about cows jumping over the moon. At first glance He Wake Eke Noa ‘we are in this canoe together’ provides an interesting twist on this old nursery rhyme. The three fools become more fools producing more bubbles in a bigger tub … with the concession that it is no longer appropriate for cows to jump over the moon. This new canoe has us all joining forces … paddles poised … for the race to tackle climate change.
He Wake Eke Noa challenges us to row together and tells us that three fools in a tub going Rub- A-Dub-Dub is no longer the best strategy … it’s time to start measuring, and yes we need to count those bubbles! Sir David admits he is intoxicated by animals, and I admit to being intoxicated by plants. We seem to have something we can agree on … a sober thought about the future of our planet. He Wake Eke Noa might make fools of us all, but at least it has us working together and paddling in the right direction … in a race we have to win!
Sir David Attenborough’s recent book praises this type of Kiwi innovation and adds a sense of urgency … when he says ‘Boo’ to a sloth he’s giving us all a message to get moving … to collaborate rather than pontificate ’to tree or not to tree’, a soliloquy that Kiwis can make a symphony … perhaps with a new chorus line ‘redwood or pine in the nick of time’.
THE COWBOY’S LAMENT T. Egan
A cowboy contemplates the new dawn A quick sniff and a long yawn The Marlboro man is no longer torn The rodeo a marquee on the lawn Janny arrives angelic worn All eyes in her direction drawn Te Radar blasts the horn Mudgey the cowboy has been shorn Mr and Mrs Mudgway in striking form Married at last I can inform!!!
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THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES JOIN FORCES TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE 13 New Zealand primary industry organisations have joined forces to design practical solutions to meet climate change targets, reward efforts to reduce emissions, and support the industry’s future success. The partnership is known as He Waka Eke Noa. The government has signaled its intentions for New Zealand through the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019. The Act established the Climate Change Commission and emission reduction targets. He Waka Eke Noa was established to assist the primary sector in meeting its targets in line with the Act. By December 2021, a quarter of all New Zealand farms must know their annual greenhouse gas number (carbon footprint or CO2 equivalent). CO2 equivalent, or CO2e, includes carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide but is reported in terms of CO2. By December 2022, 100% of farms must know their number. By January 2025, all farms must also have an integrated Farm Environment Plan that incorporates emissions reductions, emissions offsets and climate adaptation. The meat industry has formed a task force to develop a programme to help sheep and beef farmers know their number by 2022. Watch this space or talk to your livestock buyer for more information.
IT’S BACK! (WE HOPE.) SEE US AT FIELDAYS! SITE F59.
MUDGEY’S COLUMN
I have never been one to not say what I’m thinking and usually I just shoot from the hip! Right now, I can’t quite work out why there appears to be a lack of confidence in farming circles.
Yes, it’s getting dry, and we have an extremely high dollar to contend with. Also, there’s Covid-19, container issues and climate change with trees popping up all over the place. But let’s not forget: We are in this together! Greenlea is here to help you with these changes and challenges. With change comes opportunities! Let’s not forget who has been the backbone over the last 12 or so months: farmers and their associated industries. Mudgey is certainly looking for a little farm and is positive about our industry moving forward. Yes, we will have to run a few less numbers and change a few systems, but that will give farmers options to tweak production, get a few more kg’s per animal, a few more cattle ready out of season perhaps. These
are just some ways to increase revenue on the farm. If we do the same thing the same way, then yes, we will get the same result. Thinking climate change, farming flows and systems: it was always suggested that when Pohutukawa flower early, it will be a long, hot summer. This year at my little beach spot, they didn’t even flower. The weatherman keeps telling us that rain is just around the corner. North Island prime kill is well ahead of last year, and the bull kill is also well advanced. We all know how under stocked most regions are after last year’s dry season. I can’t help but feel that an opportunity for improved returns could be not too far away. Yes, the cow run will be upon us any day, and we all know what happens in the USA when they get offered volumes of product, but once that has been and gone, it might just change rapidly. Tidy up that rough back paddock, utilise that extra bailage or hay made earlier. A few extra cattle to market in June/July might just be worth the money. In the meantime, give yourselves a big pat on the back. The last 12 months hasn’t been easy, but considering all things thrown at us, we have done bloody well!
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SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED BEEF PATTIES AIMED TO BECOME ‘NEW NORMAL’ It’s possible to produce a beef patty sustainably across the supply chain in New Zealand, a year-long trial has shown. Key players in the red meat industry partnered with the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI’s) Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund to develop a model for producing independently verified sustainable beef through the entire supply chain. The project aimed to help meet the growing demand for ethically sourced and sustainable products. “The project showed that New Zealand can do this, and the model can be scaled up – so this really is an encouraging milestone,” says Steve Penno, MPI’s Director Investment Programmes. “It provides transparency to customers and the public in a way that hasn’t been possible before.” The trial used the McDonald’s supply chain as a test case. Six farms, processing companies ANZCO Foods, Greenlea, Silver Fern Farms (comprising 50% of New Zealand’s beef industry), and Beef+Lamb New Zealand collaborated to work out how to meet sustainability requirements. “It was awesome to see the wider industry working together for a common goal rather than competing with each other to see ‘who can be the most sustainable’,” says Mr Penno. The pilot focused on the sustainable principles of economic, environmental, and social responsibility. It involved an independent audit and verification of the supply chain’s sustainability, including on-farm, meat processing and patty production. It also aimed to address the stakeholder expectations identified in the Red Meat Profit Partnership and New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef materiality studies, completed in 2019. These priorities included water quality and water use, animal welfare, and on-farm environmental management. The trial showed that the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme Plus (NZFAP+) developed under the Red Meat Profit Partnership is an important part of demonstrating New Zealand’s ability to produce sustainable beef on-farm. NZFAP+ complements and builds on the existing
Farm Assurance Programme with three additional components: Farm Environment, People, and Biosecurity. It has been designed to protect and enhance all resources, create better and more sustainable farming businesses, and incorporate socially responsible and ethical practices. This programme is expected to be rolled out more widely in April. McDonald’s Restaurants NZ, which serves 1.6 million people in New Zealand every week, says it is proud to play a role in moving the industry further towards sustainable practices. “More and more our customers are asking us how our beef is produced,” says Dave Howse, Managing Director McDonald’s Restaurants NZ. “We need to change and evolve with the times and we also need to lead – and sustainability is one of those areas where we really feel we can work with industry to move things forward.” The New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef will look at building on the success of the pilot project by involving more farms and promoting the adoption of NZFAP+. “Many of New Zealand farmers’ practices are already sustainable and we hope that over time these practices will be adopted as the new norm,” says Grant Bunting, New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Chairman. “We have the opportunity to be world leaders and consciously create a complete food package that is better for the planet.”
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Greenlea Rescue Helicopter crew open hangar doors The crew at the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter are opening their hangar doors to stakeholders and groups associated with Greenlea Premier Meats. We warmly welcome your group or business on a tour through your community rescue helicopter hangar facilities. Get insight into the daily life of your rescue crew and learn what it takes to be one of the most highly skilled, professional rescue teams in the country. The tour includes a presentation with access to view the team’s medical and rescue equipment, used every day to save countless lives and funded by local businesses and the communities we serve.
BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL. AVAILABLE DATES: 14 APRIL AND 3 JUNE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9AM AND 4PM. If you think that your business or group would enjoy a private tour of the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter facilities at Taupo Airport, we would love to host you. Please phone 0800 11 10 10 or email fundraise@rescue.org.nz
Local Taupo resident’s window of opportunity Phyllis and Numia Tukaki of Acacia Bay were recent grateful beneficiaries of the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter’s speedy service. One morning, Phyllis walked into the kitchen to see Numia at the kitchen bench looking very unwell, sweating and leaning on his right side. Phyllis understood immediately. “I had just seen the Stroke advert on TV and saw the same signs in Numia,” she says. Without hesitation, Phyllis phoned for an ambulance. The ambulance medics assessed the patient and made the decision to head straight for Taupo Airport to a waiting Greenlea Rescue Helicopter ready to fly Numia to Rotorua Hospital. Phyllis followed a short while later in the car with her son and during the trip was contacted by the medical team in Rotorua asking for her consent for a drug to be administered that would dissolve a threatening blood clot. “I knew there were potential serious side-effects,” says Phyllis, “but I had been told that it had to be administered within three hours of the stroke taking place. Anything after that would be too late.”
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Numia received the treatment and had gained limited movement by the time Phyllis arrived. “The helicopter made the difference,” says Phyllis. “Taking him by road to Rotorua Hospital may not have allowed enough time for the drug to be administered – and there were also roadworks in place.”
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Today, Numia is back at home in Acacia Bay and continues to amaze. “He was speaking after the third day and walked out of hospital two weeks later. All he came home with was a walking stick and he doesn’t even need that any longer!” Phyllis states proudly.
“That three-hour window was crucial. Without the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter, it would have been a different outcome and Numia wouldn’t be as he is now. We’re very grateful.”
The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter is dedicated to serving the central North Island community 24/7, 365 days of the year. Thank you to Greenlea Premier Meats and their farmers for continuing to support the lifesaving service of the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter. You’re helping us touch the lives of many people.
Discover more and donate today | 0800 11 10 10 | info@rescue.org.nz rescue.org.nz | @rescuehelicoptersNZ | @rescuehelicoptersNZ