Provenance is our strength

It may be a far-away country but you haven’t had to go far this year to find articles on New Zealand farming in our media. It is easy to see why this is so, as their industry produces many of the same products as our own and the cultural ties are so close. From the BBC’s Countryfile to the pages of this paper, journalists here have looked to New Zealand as a country which removed their support system, giving a pointer to what may happen here as agricultural policy is returned home from Brussels.

The picture painted of NZ farming is of a dynamic, innovative and efficient sector, freed up from regulation and the drag of subsidy. Implicit in this is the suggestion that somehow our industry is not and is hooked on subsidy.

Undoubtedly NZ agriculture is as pictured and we have much to learn from it. But there has been scarcely a mention of the key difference between the two countries – the climate.

New Zealand sits in a position which, if in the northern hemisphere, would place it somewhere near the north of Italy running down in to North Africa.

Add in a rainfall which is nearer that of Ireland and you have a perfect grass-growing environment. So most parts of the country have no need for wintering facilities and all the costs that that entails.

Over the years we have had various visitors from southern hemisphere farming backgrounds, all claiming to farm without state support.

Apart from the disdain for our subsidy dependence, their universal message has been “look to where you have a competitive advantage” when we contrast our short growing season with theirs.

Undoubtedly this is a fair point. But it is difficult to see where this advantage might be found the further up the hill or the further north you go in this country.

The stock answer to this type of comment is “compete on quality” but other, lower cost producing countries such as New Zealand can also produce good quality.

One of our sons just now is testifying to this as he works on a NZ farm and lives on their mutton.

Where we can add competitive advantage to the eating qualities of our food is surely when we add in the provenance story that is uniquely ours.

The provenance of our food – where and how it is grown, what it has been fed on, what it has not been injected with – is what differentiates our produce from many countries with lower production costs.

What we often forget is that what is good about the farmed landscape in this country is also a key part of that provenance story.

So are we falling short in making the most of this? Probably – we need to see the provenance story as a key opportunity, improve on delivery of this on the ground and then work on it in the marketplace.

If we don’t, it may only be New Zealand lamb that is on our plates.

New Zealand is often seen as a reference point for the farming industry in the UK.