Defining success in the red meat sector
What does success in the sheep and beef sector look like to you? I was asked this question recently and it was something of a challenge to provide an answer.
To me, the most difficult part is articulating what success actually means. It really is about an individual’s values and priorities. What success looks like to me will likely be very different to what success looks like to anybody else.
From a farming perspective, success can be particularly difficult to define as farming is all about continuous improvement.
I have yet to meet a farmer who is completely happy with his productivity, profitability, farm environment and infrastructure. While finishing lines don’t exist in our industry, I have been giving some thought to what success might look like for our sector and how we get there - both within our own operations, our communities and the wider industry.
By 2040 will all of our waterways be safe enough to drink from? Will our lamb be recognised for its unique attributes? Will our sheep and beef farming systems be carbon neutral? Will we have minimal wastage, thriving communities and farmers completely happy with their processors?
While 2040 sounds like a long way off, in reality it’s not. Twenty- three years is a short time when we are dealing with biological systems – but conversely, it’s a long time in the fast-moving world of media and global politics.
From an industry point of view, I think all of us can agree that we would like a thriving industry within a healthy environment, prosperous communities and strong economy.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has just undergone a process of developing our strategic direction until 2022. We turned a lens on our business and looked at our vision, purpose, values, principles and goals and came up with five priorities to ensure we are creating the best value for our levy-paying farmers. The timeframe is determined by our levy cycles - but what we are striving to do is set our industry up for success out to 2040 and beyond.
Yes - this does sound very corporate-speak, but it boils down to ensuring our farmers have a strong red meat industry which they – and New Zealand – can be proud of.
Among the shenanigans of this year’s upcoming election, we see water and farming practices emerge as an election issue. As a sector, we are working together to demonstrate that we do take our environmental responsibilities seriously and the recent Farming Leaders Pledge to make all rivers swimmable was an example of that.
While we have our own political biases, one thing we can all agree on is that water is a precious commodity and we all need to ensure we have clean water and healthy waterways now and for future generations.
As we live in a democracy, we cannot always control what is foisted upon us from governments, what we can control is how we respond to that - and never losing sight of what success looks like.
Andrew Morrison is the southern South Island director of Beef + Lamb New Zealand