Beef + Lamb New Zealand B.L.O.G Blog - Keeping you up to date on our latest events and activities

A new year is upon us again and so it’s time to look at what’s ahead, to assess, prepare for and prospect.

To kick off 2012, we will stage the Golden Lamb Awards (aka the Glammies) – an event which has grown exponentially since its inception in 2007. 2012 has seen 140 entries, the highest by far to date. This positively reinforces that farmers support the contest and what it stands for in terms of finding the most tender, tasty lamb in the country.

We regularly remind people that our New Zealand beef and sheep farmers are guardians of the land who hand their skills down through the generations. The result is top quality lamb – tender, succulent and full of flavour – which is able to command the premium it so deserves.

Conversely, we understand that higher than ever lamb prices are discouraging the New Zealand shopper from buying, so the challenge for us at Beef + Lamb Inc is to reposition lamb in New Zealanders’ minds over the long term. That will take time and it will take money.

We know lamb still holds a nostalgic place in Kiwis’ hearts and it’s a product everyone loves when they have it – being so full of natural flavour and originating from the lush pastures New Zealand’s temperate climate produces. The no added hormones, additives or growth promotants attribute remains a real marketing advantage both here and abroad.

Our biggest challenge is to ensure lamb is seen as THE choice for special occasion meals. The meal ideas we have been promoting through mEAT magazine have been a great starting point and the feedback from the 200,000 copies printed has been resoundingly positive. People want to be reminded of reasons and ways to use lamb for celebratory occasions.

Until now, we’ve had two products which sat side by side as everyday options. The goal now is for red meat to take hold of two distinctive meal occasions – beef as the everyday and lamb as the special.

Alongside this challenge is the constant need to respond to misleading information which is portrayed through the media and then spreads in an instant through the social media phenomenon, which is growing by the day.

The “save the planet” mantra has become as much about ‘trending’ on twitter or people gathering ‘likes’ on facebook, as it is about fact.

History tells us the importance of ensuring robust, factual information is available alongside this misleading, emotionally-driven hype. Positive public relations will continue to be a key focal point for us.

We’ve recently launched ourselves on Twitter and, although I had reservations at first, I am now convinced being absent from this form of digital media would be doing ourselves a huge disservice. How else can you connect directly with people who are complaining about prices, or asking for cooking tips? Where else can you literally butt in on a stranger’s conversation about dinner and say “actually you should try lamb kebabs on the BBQ tonight” in a helpful and socially acceptable way?

The online arena is an exciting and limitless opportunity we’re looking to maximise in the coming year. The possibilities are endless: iphone apps, QR codes, twitter… remembering that our customers are becoming increasingly accessible to us at point of purchase and are hungrier than ever for inspiration and direct contact.

Finally, though, I must pay tribute to a very traditional event which has been great for beef in this country. 2012 will mark one decade of the Steak of Origin competition.

From small beginnings as a pilot competition in Northland, the Steak of Origin has grown into a highlight on the beef farming calendar and one which we look forward to every year. To mark this special occasion, we will be searching for the Producer of the Decade. Start looking back at your results as there will be points allocated for semi-finalists, finalists, class winners and Grand Champions over the years. The points will be added to any scored in 2012 to establish our Supreme winner.

Look out for your entry forms in the next week for more information. We predict this could be a very tight race!

Best wishes for 2012 and, as always, give me a bell anytime on 021 940 442 or email rod@beeflambnz.co.nz. And, if you’re on twitter, send us a tweet @beeflambnz !

It’s been a great and not so great year in our industry depending on where you sit in the supply chain. At last you, our farmers, are getting a return on investment that has been sadly lacking for too long. The down side of these vastly improved returns to farmers is the push back from consumers which has been of concern to us for some time now. In addition, we have had a few curved balls thrown at us, including natural disasters, financial crises and industrial accidents.

The record high lamb prices at retail level has led to more consumer questions, media enquiry and complaints than I can ever remember in this organisation.  I have, on three occasions, been interviewed by main stream television seeking comment about the effect of these prices on the consumer. My stock standard answer has been simple – for too long farmers have been selling lamb at prices which were too low and unsustainable in the long term. Nobody should begrudge farmers these returns which they are due.

From the consumer perspective, lamb has literally become a special occasion meal and sales have suffered as a result. In the last two months or so I have seen some more palatable prices in the market place including 400 grams of cubed lamb for around the $12-$14 mark. So, to complement that, we have made it our mission to be front footed in promoting meals via all our communication channels which effectively use cheaper cuts.

With all the media negativity around these local lamb prices, it’s been great to see our industry just getting on with it. I’ve been heartened by the bigger and smaller retailers taking a genuine interest in working with us to collectively sell more beef and lamb – profitably.

I was also immensely proud to see how well respected and much loved New Zealand beef and lamb is on the global stage when we hosted thousands of international visitors recently. We had over 10,000 entries in our restaurant competition (where it was mandatory for people entering to have dined on a beef or lamb meal at any participating restaurant throughout New Zealand). Simultaneously, the beef and lamb dishes were ranked amongst the top four meals on offer at The Cloud in Auckland.

I’ve thought for a while now that our small team punches well above our weight in terms of our brand presence in the marketplace and this was confirmed recently when another major player in the food industry came seeking our advice on the social media forums of Facebook and Twitter. We launched on Facebook mid year and have achieved close to 4000 ‘likes’ with our daily commentaries; we have just entered the world of Twitter and tweets and already the dialogue has morphed. We manage both facilities ‘in house’, as we do the production of our mEAT magazine.

The Christmas issue of mEAT saw a print run of 200,000 – that from a magazine which launched earlier this year with a trial print run of 30,000 and half the amount of pages.  Again, we have other companies knocking on the door keen to be a part of the publication.

I see joint ventures of this kind as well as those we do in store and above the line as an integral part of the future. Some would say the only way forward.

Our travelling primary school barbecue road show featuring Iron Brion has performed to nearly 1 million New Zealand kids since his inception in 1999. He will be taking a break next year but the primary school resource which underlies this programme will still be very much available to teachers and students via our website.

Last but far from least I am pleased to announce the addition of two new people to our Iron Maidens team – Juliette Haigh and Rebecca Scown, world champions in the women’s coxless pair.  Juliette and Rebecca approached us recently, keen to become part of our growing stable of athletes which includes Sarah Walker, Alison Shanks, Sarah Ulmer, Georgina Earl, Caroline Meyer and Nikki Hamblin.

None of the above, big or small, would be possible without the support of you, our New Zealand farmers both in terms of the quality of stock you produce and your total commitment to the job at hand. For that, I thank you. I look forward to doing it all again and punching harder in 2012.

Best wishes for a happy and relaxing summer season. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me over the summer break 021 940 442 or rod@beeflambnz.co.nz