BULLETIN ISSUE 16: Winter 2017
WELCOME TO OUR FIELDAYS ISSUE!
We are excited to announce the launch of our new online sales site. You can now visit www.greenleabutcher.co.nz to order Greenlea beef whenever you want, as much as you want, delivered direct to your doorstep. All of your favourite cuts are available as well as roasts, mince, diced and stir fry strips. You already know that we send the good stuff overseas. Now it’s your turn. Greenlea export quality beef delivered to your door. Without homekill you can’t get more paddock to plate than that. Pure, uncompromised New Zealand beef. Direct to your door. Quality beef at a reasonable price.
NOW TAKING ORDERS AT
www.greenleabutcher.co.nz
BOOKING APP REMINDER You can now book your cattle with our Android or iPhone booking app. It’s simple and easy to register your farm and start booking!
www.greenlea.co.nz
B+LNZ DAIRY/BEEF INTEGRATION RESULTS A five year study by Beef + Lamb NZ and AgResearch has confirmed the potential benefits to dairy farmers to produce high value calves with minimal calving problems by breeding to proven beef genetics. The Beef + Lamb NZ Dairy-Beef Integration Programme undertook a five year comprehensive analysis and demonstration of the benefits and risks involved throughout the supply chain in order to increase the supply of quality calves to the finishing industry. DNA profiles were conducted for all dams, sires and progeny so that progeny performance could be linked to parentage. Dam attributes were recorded (frame size, liveweight and breed) to link progeny performance. Animal performance attributes of calving ease, liveweight gain and carcass attributes, were also measured.
sires with high Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for calving ease limited calving problems and those with high EBVs for liveweight produced cattle with higher growth rates. Using beef sires with high EBVs for calving ease and liveweight on dairy farms therefore has benefits for both dairy and beef farmers. To see the full report: http://www.beeflambnz.com/ news-events/media-releases/2016/october/dairy-beefintegration/ Greenlea is continuing with work in the beef genetics space through our partnership with the Red Meat Profit Partnership. One study into bull beef genetics has been running for two years, and a Massey University PhD student will soon be crunching the numbers to look at significant outcomes. This year we will also be involved in a dairy beef study with Limestone Downs, Beef + Lamb Genetics and Massey University.
The study demonstrated that the use of proven beef
MUDGEY’S COLUMN As the days get shorter, the cows are behind a wire, the ewes are spread out, and the season starts to change. It’s not a bad time to think about change. In the past couple of months, we have seen Donna, Debra and Cook … those bloody cyclones that have caused havoc both in communities and on farm. Forces that we have no control over, these changing weather patterns certainly saw the season reassessed by many. Plans to early winter milk abandoned and culls sent out the gate at a rapid rate. After an amazing early autumn period over all the country the season certainly took a turn for the worse in many regions. Change can sometimes be a good thing, sometimes it can be uncertain. Another change that has been happening right under our noses is something that I’m passionate about … not Debra and Donna,
www.greenlea.co.nz
but our meat industry. Guess what? Approximately 65% of our New Zealand beef processing facilities are now foreign owned. Yes, control is off shore, and it sure is happening in a very short time and right under our noses. The changes are different at Greenlea. They are more about better production, improving value, and doing the right thing by you our farmer partners in this cut-throat operation where a slip of a knife can really affect your real dollar value. Yes, change also means new personnel, and there are plenty of new young faces at Greenlea … a couple of Egans, a next generation Clark buying cattle, a little Goldie and a younger, smarter Mudgey on the job. That’s just to mention a few … all getting their hands dirty and learning a good Kiwi trade. There’s another change coming, but you’ll have to come visit us at Fieldays to see this one! Same site (F53), similar format. Come sit down, have a cuppa and a chat, and meet some of the team.
FUTURE
FOOD TECH In late March, Tony Egan, Andrew Steel (Greenlea board member) and I (Greenlea’s business development manager) headed to San Francisco for the Future Food Tech conference. This two-day conference is fundamentally about the revolution in food design and technology, and a good portion of the programme was dedicated to alternative protein. Alternative protein includes all forms of non-“traditional” protein sources whether plant-derived, cellular-based or expressed by yeast. These plant-based protein foods are already on supermarket shelves in the USA. Beyond Meat are one of the bigger players who have received loads of capital investment and just as much media attention. Impossible Foods are another media darling at the moment even though their “bleeding” plant-based burger is only sold in three restaurants in the US. Despite the hype, it is clear that these plant derived proteins are more than just a passing trend. These start-ups are well funded and well positioned to begin making inroads into the market. What wasn’t obvious before attending the conference is that these companies and others like them are the new obsession of Silicon Valley. These entrepreneurs are driven by a passion for finding the answer to feeding 10 billion people by 2050.They are looking to create a high quality protein source that is cheap to produce but that doesn’t require factory farming to achieve.
Memphis Meats also presented to the conference about their success in growing meat (yes, real meat) in a laboratory. They have successfully grown beef, chicken and duck by using stem cells suspended in a nutrient-rich broth. By their own admission they are 5 – 10 years away from even initial commercialisation. While Tony, Andrew and I were possibly the only carnivores in the room (we kept really quiet and sat on the back row), this is more a humanitarian mission than a bunch of vegans out to rid the world of meat-eaters. We returned from San Francisco feeling much better about being in the meat business, but we realise that we have some work to do. We believe that meat, especially our New Zealand grass fed meat, has a strong future if appropriate positioning strategies are followed. We need to continue to be part of the larger conversation on creating a provenance story for New Zealand red meat. We need to be aware that these plant-proteins may start to undermine our commodity business; we can’t rely on being successful by selling undifferentiated protein. While alternative protein may find its way into people’s diets, when consumers do buy meat, they will be willing to pay more for it if it has all the attributes that they desire. The “story” has to include taste, quality, and freedom from all the “nasty” stuff. The meat will be from the country with the highest animal welfare standards and grown in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Greenlea is working to stay at the forefront of understanding modern food trends to ensure we’re not caught unaware by the emergence of alternative proteins and changing food preferences. Julie McDade
NZ FARM DATA CODE OF PRACTICE The Farm Data Code of Practice is for organisations involved in collecting, storing and sharing primary production data in New Zealand. Greenlea is proud to be the first meat processing company to be accredited under the Code. According to Andrew Cooke, managing director of Rezare Systems, “Farmers today realise that knowledge is the life-blood of profitable farming, so it’s increasingly important that data about their farm operations is both accessible and protected. Accreditation under the Farm Data Code of Practice gives farmers confidence that the
company they are dealing with has understood the importance of good data and security practices, and has clear data access terms.” The application process required a rigorous self-audit and assessment to ensure compliance with processes, policies and systems across all areas of data security and sharing. This certification is the first step in a wider industry initiative to make it easier for farmers to share data between their various on-farm management systems which saves times by eliminating the need for double entry of data.
www.flightforlife.co.nz
RESCUE HELICOPTERS
SAVE LIVES Night hoist Mission from the Tauranga-Taupo River The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to the Tauranga-Taupo River on to search for an injured kayaker. A kayaking trip took a turn for the worse, when a waterfall plunge went wrong for two experienced kayakers. One man was knocked unconscious. His friend pulled him from the water, and started performing CPR, which saved his life. The men had to setup camp, as darkeness was fast approaching. The injured man’s friend then set off to find help. He scrambled up a bank of about 100 metres from the river and walked about 5km until he found cell phone reception.
A search and rescue operation was initiated and the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was dispatched at 12.30am. Using Night Vision Goggles, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter first located the friend and then the injured man. The rescue helicopter then guided the ground team to his location. To get him to treatment as fast as possible, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was used to winch the man from his location and then fly him to Taupo Hospital for treatment of a suspected broken rib.
fieldays 14-17 june 2017 ®
The man behind the missions - Meet greenlea rescue helicopter pilot & Base manager nat every Greenlea Premier Meats has invited the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter crew to join them once again at National Fieldays® Mystery Creek. On Friday 16 June, Greenlea Rescue Helicopter Pilot & Base Manager Nat Every will be on-site, giving you the chance to meet the man behind some of the 218 lifesaving missions that the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter undertook in 2016.
your support saves lives donate now at rescue.org.nz rescue.org.nz |
rescuehelicoptertrust |
@Rescue_PSRT |
@Rescuechoppersnz
- Commem0rating -
30 YEARs of Philips Search and rescue trust