Taranaki beef and sheep farmers are among the few in New Zealand who are loyal to the meat companies to which they supply stock, says rural identity Bryan Hocken.
Mr Hocken, of Tarata, and Graham Fergus, of Strathmore, attended the launch of the red meat sector strategy at the Beehive last week as western ward members of Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Farmer Council.
Meat company heads and about 100 farmers attended the release of the strategy by Prime Minister John Key.
The strategy says meat companies are held back because they compete simultaneously in stock procurement and export markets, and suggests that even though they are rivals, they need to collaborate in the market.
The strategy also suggests greater synergies in procurement of stock for processing, particularly transport, to help companies manage seasonal peaks better.
For farmers, it suggests they commit at least 70 per cent of their stock to one processor, leaving the remainder supplied out of contract so they can manage seasonal variations and animal condition.
Mr Hocken said most farmers in Taranaki were loyal to the meat company they supplied. About 10 companies in the area between Te Kuiti and Whanganui processed Taranaki stock.
Elsewhere, farmers chased the dollar and did not have a relationship with the companies, he said.
"The rest of the country could take a leaf out of Taranaki's book. Taranaki farmers should be saluted for showing loyalty to the companies they have supplied in the past." He said he liked to think that the companies rewarded the farmers for their loyalty.
He wanted more farmers to attend field days organised by the Farmers' Council so they could learn about the direction of the red-meat industry.
"That's beneficial to the farmer, the industry and the country. The red meat sector and the rural sector will be the saviour of the nation."
Mr Hocken, of Tarata, and Graham Fergus, of Strathmore, attended the launch of the red meat sector strategy at the Beehive last week as western ward members of Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Farmer Council.
Meat company heads and about 100 farmers attended the release of the strategy by Prime Minister John Key.
The strategy says meat companies are held back because they compete simultaneously in stock procurement and export markets, and suggests that even though they are rivals, they need to collaborate in the market.
The strategy also suggests greater synergies in procurement of stock for processing, particularly transport, to help companies manage seasonal peaks better.
For farmers, it suggests they commit at least 70 per cent of their stock to one processor, leaving the remainder supplied out of contract so they can manage seasonal variations and animal condition.
Mr Hocken said most farmers in Taranaki were loyal to the meat company they supplied. About 10 companies in the area between Te Kuiti and Whanganui processed Taranaki stock.
Elsewhere, farmers chased the dollar and did not have a relationship with the companies, he said.
"The rest of the country could take a leaf out of Taranaki's book. Taranaki farmers should be saluted for showing loyalty to the companies they have supplied in the past." He said he liked to think that the companies rewarded the farmers for their loyalty.
He wanted more farmers to attend field days organised by the Farmers' Council so they could learn about the direction of the red-meat industry.
"That's beneficial to the farmer, the industry and the country. The red meat sector and the rural sector will be the saviour of the nation."
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