BULLETIN
ISSUE 27: Autumn 2020 ISSUE 32: Winter 2021
‘FUN IN THE FOG’ Is it a creek? Is it a stream? Why do such mysteries Haunt my Fieldays dream? Thank goodness the wet patch Is shrouded in fog With so many tents This could be a bog A jam of cars Like cows on the trot This frenzy of carbon Has me losing the plot! Beef on the menu Endangered some say With alternative protein Fast on the way The Greenlea tent Serving steak sandwich seconds While a Fieldays TV debate About food equity beckons Farm plans harder Without utes at the gate Common sense needed For Jacinda’s mandate Should we head off to town And rejuvenate? Or face the music Before it’s too late Fieldays in June Sustainability dreams With friends to help The Greenlea team!
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KNOW YOUR NUMBERS! (BY 2022, PLEASE.) In the previous issue of the Bulletin, we introduced He Waka Eke Noa, a primary industry coalition to address climate change. There are several important milestones that must be achieved to demonstrate that agriculture is serious about doing its part to help New Zealand reach its emission reduction targets.
BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, 25% OF ALL FARMERS AND GROWERS MUST KNOW THEIR TOTAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. This total includes the three most important greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
BY DECEMBER OF 2022, 100% OF FARMERS MUST KNOW THEIR NUMBERS. The meat industry is working in cooperation with Beef + Lamb NZ to make a free greenhouse gas emissions calculator available to all sheep & beef farmers. The calculator is in its final stages of testing and will soon be available for use. Greenlea will email you when the calculator is released. The calculator is simple to use, free of charge, and is an approved (by He Waka Eke Noa steering committee) GHG tool.
NEW ZEALAND FARM ASSURANCE PROGRAMME UPDATE Greenlea continues to ensure access to existing and emerging markets is maintained through our involvement in the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP). The programme is an industry good organisation that was formed by meat processors, Deer Industry NZ, and Beef & Lamb NZ. It now also includes 21 of New Zealand’s leading wool producers/scourers such as Cavalier Corporation, makers of Bremworth wool carpets. Spring Sheep Milk has also joined up to the programme. Markets are requiring their producers to underpin supply chains with auditable assurance programs which meet standards in record keeping, traceability, animal health and farm practices. NZFAP provides all this and has the added advantage of meeting many of the regulatory pressures concerning farming business, such as freshwater policy and carbon emissions.
As many of you will be aware, every farm business will be required to have an actionable farm plan in place by 2025. The NZFAP can meet this requirement in many respects through its documentation of your on-farm practices. The bonus being it provides your product with an extra layer of value. The NZFAP+ is the next level of our assurance programmes and meets the requirement for certain sustainability programmes. This standard covers best practice for social, economic, and environmental outcomes … the three pillars of sustainability. NZFAP+ will ensure your farm is future proofed and place you at the forefront of market access. If you would like to find out more about NZFAP or NZFAP+ please contact your local Greenlea buyer or call the Hamilton office and speak to the Livestock office.
A FINAL WORD FROM MUDGEY
The Last Word…” Yeah, right!”
smart young people to assist with that change.
Winter is upon is and has been a relatively kind one thus far. There has been a bit of rain in most regions which is certainly welcome, we could actually do with a wet winter; rain that is hopefully spread out and not in a couple of sudden bursts like the last 80-100mls we have had in some regions.
Trading cattle from Ruatoria to Rongotea overnight, driving 1,000 kilometres with a couple of hours’ worth of sleep over a 24-hour timeframe, buying ugly steers on Monday, dehorning Tuesday and re-yarding Friday are almost no more than memories and probably just as well. As one older cattle man in the north tells me, “This business of getting old is not for sissies!!”
It was certainly great to catch up with so many faces at Mystery Creek for Fieldays; sharing a cuppa and a yarn, and many promises made that a face-to-face visit on the farm is just around the corner. Times are most surely changing in all aspects of the business; Mudgey has missed on a couple of farms, remaining as-ever keen on that 100-odd hectares of dirt that is waiting for him to come along. We’ve missed to trees and to solar farms; slick city investors with no intention to work or live on the land, ever. Looking back through the eyes of the young hairy aged all of 17 ½, who was given a chance in this great business some forty odd years ago; we have indeed seen plenty of change and conquered it. What lies before us and into the future won’t be all that much different, and the good thing about our team at Greenlea is that there are plenty of
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Don’t worry, this old bull is not going away, it is time to let the young bull Greg Clark take the reins and run the ship. As an independent contractor to Greenlea, your old mate Mudgey will be servicing direct clients. Also covering East Coast to Manawatu, assisting Greg with out of season cattle sourcing, looking to programme winter cow grazing options on the coast and in the north, as well as sharefarmed cattle around the North Island. Making time for cups of tea and saleyard pies is the plan moving forward. So, it is not the last word, but more of a well-planned handover to Greg, a young bull capable of steering the Greenlea Premier Meats livestock team into the future. Enjoy your wintertime and practice your scone recipe; I will be visiting one day soon for a sample! Mudgey’s contact details remain: bruce@greenlea.co.nz – 021 241 4907 Greg Clark: greg@greenlea.co.nz – 021 285 5449
FIELDAYS 2021 Fieldays 2021 will best be remembered for … well … the rain! It rained, and rained and then rained some more. But it was fabulous! It was so great to be able to come together in such huge numbers and celebrate all things farming in New Zealand. Having missed out last year made this year just that bit more special. We welcomed our suppliers to our new site with twice the space from previous years, and we think we raised the bar on the humble steak sandwich to a whole new level! Thank you to those who joined us. We hope that you enjoyed some delicious food prepared by our ambassador chef, Andrew Clarke, and got the chance to sit down and catch up with someone from Team Greenlea.
www.flightforlife.co.nz
SPEED THE KEY TO LIFE-SAVING RESCUE Fieldays 2021 was the backdrop for a very special meet-andgreet at the Greenlea Premier Meats site. Patient, Hamish Shearer, took the opportunity to stop by and thank Managing Director, Tony Egan, for Greenlea’s vital sponsorship that made his rescue possible. Last year, Hamish’s motorbike hit a two-metre ditch on his parent’s farm paddock. Due to the location of the accident, only the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter could reach the scene. Hamish
MISSION COUNT
suffered severe internal blood loss and doctors later said that it was the speed of the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter that saved him. Hamish recently entered two regional marathons to raise funds for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter.
“These marathons were more than just motivation back to full health; they were the little I could do to give back.” – Hamish Shearer
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WANT YOUR VERY OWN RESCUE HELICOPTER? You can now purchase your very own Greenlea Rescue Helicopter! Perfect for someone who’s been rescued by the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter, has a passion for aviation, or just wants to donate to charity and receive a gift back. These are available to purchase via our website link below. We have a limited number of replica helicopters, so get in quick!
RESCUE.ORG.NZ/DONATE/#SECTION-MERCHANDISE 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