In this edition:

Pure South wins pure gold!
National Lamb Day Celebrations
Lamb Processing
Shareholder webinars
Know Your Co-operative
Southland Woolshed Meetings
Last chance to apply for the Associate Director Programme!
TESCO Farm Assurance Programme
Dairy-beef survey
Global market update

Pure South wins Pure Gold!

We’re proud to announce our Pure South Lamb and Pure South Handpicked Beef 55 Day Aged were both awarded gold medals at New Zealand’s Outstanding Food Producers Awards this week. The awards celebrate inspiring Kiwis who harvest, grow and produce New Zealand’s outstanding food and drink.

The judges commented that Pure South Lamb was “an incredibly luxurious fine textured lamb. The little layer of fat around the rack was perfectly proportioned and made the cut. The flavour of fat was tasty and fantastic — have not tasted better”. The judges said the beef was a “beautiful piece of beef. From the moment the knife hits the cut. Tender, juicy, flavoursome.”

These gold medals are testament to the hard work, care and dedication of our farmers. They also represent a great effort from our livestock, manufacturing and sales teams who work together to showcase our farmers’ produce. I’m sure you are as pleased with the result as we are.

Alliance Farmers’ Produce shines in National Lamb Day celebrations in Oamaru and the UK!

Our Lumina lamb shone at several events held in London last week to mark the 140th anniversary of the first shipment of New Zealand lamb into the UK, as well as the centenary of the New Zealand Meat Board.

To ensure the best quality lamb was showcased, 50 specially selected lambs were sent to our Smithfield plant by our farmers. Fifteen carcasses were selected, wrapped and sent to Singapore and then onto London where they were the main attraction at three key events

a VIP event at the prestigious Butchers’ Hall, hosted by the Worshipful Company of Butchers and attended by Princess Anne
dinner at Jesus College at the University of Cambridge
the iconic Oxford-Cambridge Boat race dinner

Locally, our product was showcased at a Beef + Lamb NZ event celebrating the milestone at the Loan + Merc in Oamaru.

Lamb Processing

There are a significant number of lambs across the country still to be processed. Please be mindful of the potential pressure on processing capacity when bobby calf volumes peak in August.

We encourage you to talk to your livestock representative about required capacity to help with livestock flow forecasting and ensuring your animals are processed when required.

Know Your Co-operative

We are supporting the industry and creating opportunities for future industry leaders. The co-operative has developed several programmes for prospective future leaders and directors to get closer to the business. These include:

Our annual Know Your Co-operative seminar
Bursaries
Graduate Programme
Associate Director Programme (please see details later in this email)

The 2022 Know Your Co-operative seminar was held in Christchurch from May 24-26. Over the three days, 12 participants from across New Zealand were given a detailed insight into all parts of Alliance Group, with presentations, interaction and workshops with Board members, our Executive Leadership Team and several other leaders across the business.

Participants were extremely positive about the experience and in particular, the “depth and breadth of talent across the organisation” and the “genuine and heartfelt connection staff have to the co-op model”.

This is the third time Alliance has run the programme.

Shareholder webinars

Thank you to those farmers who attended our shareholder webinars this week. There was an interesting range of topics discussed including Specialty Ingredients and Materials, a focus on the Asia market, Angus and Handpicked Beef and forecasting. Our next webinars are scheduled for August 8th and 9th. Look out for details closer to the time.

Southland woolshed meetings

A reminder that we will be in Southland later this month to host a series of Woolshed meetings. A big thanks to the farmers who will be opening up their sheds to the community. Please speak to your livestock representative if you are interested in attending a meeting at one of the locations below and they can provide further details.

Date	Town	Time
Thursday 23rd June	Lumsden	2pm
Monday 27th June	Otautau	10am
Monday 27th June	Wyndham	2.30pm
Tuesday, 28th June	Lawrence	10am
Tuesday, 28th June	Otama	2.30pm

Last chance to apply for Associate Director role

Interested in developing a career in governance?

We are encouraging shareholders or immediate family members) to apply for our Associate Director Programme.

This is a great opportunity for emerging directors to gain an insight into the dynamics of the boardroom. As an Associate Director, you will attend Board and Committee Meetings and gain real world experience, including exposure to Alliance Directors and Management for networking and coaching/mentoring.

The appointment is for 12 months, from August 2022 to the end of the July 2023 board meeting.

Applications close at 5pm June 7th (Tuesday) so don’t miss out.

Click here for further information, including details on how to apply.

TESCO Farm Assurance Programme

Each year, a sample of our Farm Assured suppliers are selected for an independent audit for our UK customer TESCO. These farm audits are carried out by an independent auditor.

Given COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s audit was carried out remotely by an auditor based in Ireland. Thank you to our suppliers who participated in the audits.

Overall, the results were satisfactory, however the audit identified some opportunities for improvement and we encourage you to check you are meeting these requirements.

There are differences in requirements for planned and emergency slaughter on-farm so please ensure the correct method is being carried out and talk to your livestock representative if you are unsure
As part of the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme, training records are required for staff. While farmers aren’t expected to keep their own competency records if they don’t have staff, it’s a good idea for any courses/meetings to be recorded and certificates made available during audits. You can find templates for staff training records in the Alliance Farm Assurance recording book or at www.nzfap.com.
Other minor issues identified included:
- Minor holes in woolshed floor with potential to cause injury to stock
- Water must be available for stock awaiting transport
- A reminder that the New Zealand code of welfare requires a minimum four hours and a maximum of 12 hours off feed prior to transport
- All chemicals and animal treatments must be stored appropriately and areas secure when not in use.

Dairy-beef survey

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is working to understand more about the integration of dairy-beef and investigating additional market and farm system opportunities for dairy and beef farmers. It is looking for input from farmers rearing calves sourced from the dairy industry and/or farmers rearing/finishing beef or dairy-beef cattle to take part in this survey. You only need to answer what is relevant to you. As a token of appreciation for your time, B+LNZ will donate $5 to the Rural Support Trust for every completed survey. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact research@beeflambnz.com

Update from our global markets

Lamb

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, global inflation, COVID-19 lockdowns and continued supply chain disruption are affecting our markets with retail consumers in some countries trading down to lower value proteins. We anticipate this will also eventually impact the food service sector. In China, the market is under price pressure as consumption declines due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns in various regions, however the lifting of the lockdown in Shanghai over the past week is timely. In the UK, there is some pressure due to the seasonal reduction in demand and domestic production coming on stream. In the EU and North American, buying patterns are similar, with retail slowing and food service steady as food inflation impacts start to adjust consumer behaviours. In the Middle East, the market is steady, but there is some hesitancy in purchasing volume.

Mutton

While seasonal production is almost completed, a reduction in demand out of China, particularly for carcases, means we are focused on diversified markets and the need for further processed cuts. Our markets in North America, EU and the UK are still demanding product.

Venison

Production remains focused on completing key account frozen business for the 2022 Game Season in Europe and meeting ongoing programme demand in China and North America. The global supply chain remains critical for the timely delivery of chilled and frozen venison for the pivotal Game Season.

Beef

The Chinese market is showing signs of slowing with demand for beef steady but prices are beginning to flatten. NZ export volumes to China are down five per cent on volume for the current year. The US market remains soft as hamburger manufacturers continue to prefer cheaper Brazilian imported beef or domestic production over NZ or Australian beef. NZ and Australia both have a lot of room left on their US quotas (NZ is 29% complete and Australia is 13%). Asian market demand remains firm across beef cuts and lean/fatty trimmings, with Korea and Japan continuing to provide opportunities to move both lean and fatty trimmings at strong values.

Co-products/Specialty Ingredients & Materials

Lockdowns are easing across China, however tanneries remains cautious and hide pricing remains depressed. Returns from tallow continue to break records and show no signs of easing as competition for the material remains high. Blood serums are also at record high pricing levels as a combination of new uses and returning laboratories fuel demand.