Pork industry leader back on the farm
Rob Tipa talks to an industry leader who thrives on the emotional connection the public has with his product.
After seven years as the public face of the pork industry, North Otago farmer Ian Carter has stepped down from the front lines as chairman of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board.
Carter is well-known and respected in the agricultural sector as an outstanding communicator during a difficult period for the pork industry, dealing with challenges over animal welfare standards and competition from cheap imported pork.
A defining hallmark of his leadership style since taking over as board chairman in 2011 has been his accessibility to media and his direct response to challenges from animal welfare activists and industry critics.
Because New Zealand pork producers are not exporters, he explains that they are totally dependent on Kiwi consumers.
‘‘New Zealanders are our customers, so if I can’t interest you in what I produce I go broke real fast,’’ Carter says from on his Hampden farm a few days after his last meeting as chairman of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board.
‘‘The beauty is we have an emotionally connected consumer,’’ he says. ‘‘Whether they like you or not or have heard about pork imports, the public has an emotional connection to the pig industry.’’
‘‘You’ve got an engaged audience and that gives you the opportunity to have a discussion and an opportunity to explain our industry.’’
Carter believes one of the biggest mistakes most corporations and industries make is to have communications staff as the first point of contact to handle inquiries from industry critics and the media.
His front-foot approach has always been to deal with the media personally and directly, making himself available at all hours of the day, seven days a week to handle inquiries.
‘‘We put a lot of effort into the media by being open and responsive to their questions and answering with real experience and knowledge,’’ he says. ‘‘If extremists’ views don’t get any oxygen they suffocate.’’
Being available and accessible ‘‘can be a nightmare and is not without risk’’, he says, but the risk is worth it if it gives pig farmers an opportunity to be heard directly by the audience and their critics.
Carter says 25 years in pork industry politics and seven years at the helm of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board has been challenging but rewarding to build public trust in the industry.
He was ‘‘shoulder-tapped’’ to take on the top job after building a strong network from his work for pig farmers in both the Auckland and Otago/Southland regions.
Pigs are a unique animal with needs that are closer to humans than sheep or cattle, but he says the public doesn’t really appreciate that makes them very different animals to farm.
He says his proactive approach to issues has not always been understood by an industry that has faced more challenges than other primary producers.
‘‘I think we’ve done some good things,’’ he says. ‘‘I have enjoyed educating the media and New Zealanders about what we do. So much of what we do is for the good of the animals we care for, which is often misunderstood by the public.
‘‘We care about our animals and we do the right things for our animals for the right reasons, ‘‘ he says. ‘‘Just because you don’t understand us, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust us.’’
Carter counts the introduction of the industry’s PigCare programme as one of the greatest successes of his term in office.
The independently verified programme works as an industry trust mark, ensuring pigs born and raised in New Zealand are reared under high standards of animal welfare.
‘‘I can’t stress how invaluable that’s been to our industry on a whole raft of levels,’’ he says.
One of the biggest calls he made as chairman was for the board to move from Wellington to Christchurch to be closer to commercial interests in the industry rather than politicians and regulators in the capital.
He says a lot of other primary industries are based in Wellington, because that is where they have the most influence with industry regulators, primarily politicians.
‘‘When I sit in on a primary industry meeting in Wellington, I know everyone else in the room will be export focused and all I focus on is the people in the room, because I have to sell to them.’’
Carter says the decision to move out of the capital had polarised individuals in the industry.
‘‘I’ve always believed the New Zealand consumer is more critical to me because they have more impact whether my farm is viable or not,’’ he says. ‘‘By the time you’ve changed regulations, the consumer has already moved on and it has cost you in your back pocket.
‘‘The need to have our consumers trust us is equally or more important than solely focusing on the regulator.’’
Looking back, Carter regards the pork industry as a dynamic leader and barometer for other primary industries, but he does have concerns about competition and compliance issues in future.
‘‘We do it first,’’ he says. ‘‘Our biosecurity and animal welfare is awesome, understanding our animals and the response we get from them is amazing.’’
He believes one of the historic strengths of primary industries in this country is their ability to work together. Now, he says business is so fast-moving every primary producer is looking for a point of difference, normally at the expense of someone else.
‘‘I think the strength of New Zealand is its small business model and we’re ruining that rapidly with our increasing compliance requirements. To meet the red tape you have to be of a certain scale to handle compliance with WorkSafe, human resources requirements.’’
While most pig farms are still family-owned operations, Carter believes the margins are getting tighter and the risks are greater for small businesses.
Despite these challenges, he believes there are still opportunities for young people starting out in the industry, but buying an existing piggery is easier than starting up on a greenfield site.
Since resigning from his role as board chairman before his tenure expires next year, Carter, 54, is looking forward to a bit more time to himself back on his farm in North Otago.
Carter’s piggery has 200 breeding sows and 2000 pigs, employs two staff and has enabled the family to buy the neighbouring land, on which they run 550 friesian beef bulls.
‘‘I couldn’t go back to just farming sheep and cattle,’’ he says. ‘‘If we make a change with our pigs we can see results in pretty quick time. Pigs are such a rewarding and responsive animal to farm.’’