New Zealand has a deserved green image, but a poorly managed food crisis could permanently stain our hard-won reputation.
New Zealand venison exporters have started a trial to test the appetite of European consumers for Cervena venison in the summer grilling season.
The trial, which began in April, is part of the Passion2Profit initiative that was launched at the Deer Industry Conference in Napier.
P2P is a joint venture between the deer industry and the Ministry for Primary Industries under the Primary Growth Partnership programme.
"We are really excited ... Launching Cervena in Europe has been talked about in the deer industry for many years, but it needs careful branding and substantial promotional support to make it a sales success," said Deer Industry New Zealand venison manager Innes Moffat.
"European consumers are already familiar with venison, but only as a traditional game dish consumed in the winter game season. Eating venison in summer off the barbecue or grill remains a really novel concept.
"To achieve market cut-through we need to make a clean break with the game-meat tradition with its associations with slow cooking and rich sauces.
"By using the Cervena appellation in Europe for the first time, we are aiming to excite consumer interest in a new food item that is tender, natural, farm-raised and from New Zealand."
He said Hanos, the Dutch food service company hosting the trial, had enthusiastically seized the opportunity to market what in effect was a new food category.
"Thirty-six ambassador chefs in Belgium and The Netherlands will be serving Cervena venison on their menus over the summer."
The Cervena is being supplied by First Light Foods, one of five leading venison exporters who have agreed to collaboratively market venison in new markets as part of the Passion2Profit strategy.
Moffat said the focus of the pilot was on chefs.
"As a result of the trial we will know how chefs respond to a wide range of cuts and sales messages. This information, plus sales data and diner responses will be shared by Hanos and First Light with the other exporters and DINZ.
"This will help inform the development and refinement of a wider European out-of-season marketing strategy, with the objective of increasing year round farmer returns for venison -- a key industry goal."
Shear challenge
Marie Paki has spent most of her life in the shearing industry and knows the market's a bit cramped.
But there's no time like the present as she launches Kotahi Tatau Shearing, which the Napier-based woolhandler turned businesswoman says aims to train local unemployed.
"Our commitment is to get the trainees full-time work and to get them off the benefit," she said. "When there is no shearing, they will be offered all types of other work, such as crutching, fencing, apple-picking and also experience sea diving."
Paki, the tutor and shed manager, said by working with industry training provider Primary ITO and alongside other contractors, they hoped to introduce several people to shearing and woolhandling this year.
"I've been around the shearing sheds all my life," she said. "So I thought it's time to give it a go."
Winning run
Former Hawke's Bay shearer Matt Smith has scored another win in the UK where he now lives.
Smith won a 20-sheep open final at the Devon County Show.
Top New Zealand senior shearer Ethan Pankhurst, of Masterton, also reached the six-man final but was cut out of the major money in his first attempt in open-class shearing.
Both were to compete at the Golden Shears of Great Britain.
A better way to deal with crises
The agri-food sector needs to establish a rapid-response crisis management group to protect New Zealand's food production reputation, says a Massey University communications specialist.
Dr Chris Galloway says the best way to minimise the impact of the next crisis is with a rapid and co-ordinated response between industry and government.
"In a situation like the Fonterra botulism scare you really need co-ordinated messaging and responses to avoid confusion and to show that you are on top of the situation," Dr Galloway says.
"Agri-food -- and New Zealand's reputation for quality and safety -- is too important to the wider economy for government to take a hands-off approach.
"Our reputation allows us to charge a premium in overseas markets, such as China. If that reputation is damaged it has a direct dollar consequence -- and not just on the individual companies concerned."
Dr Galloway says past crises have shown co-ordination gaps in terms of messaging and the timing of announcements. He says the first step is to identify key stakeholders and do joint scenario planning.
"One of the things that really speeds things up in a crisis is pre-authorising people to make certain decisions without having to go up the organisational food chain.
"If you have a crisis management group that has run some scenarios and can agree on a response, they will deal with a live contamination threat much more efficiently -- and that can really minimise reputational damage."
Dr Galloway, who was to speak at a Massey Business School seminar on Safe Food, Safe Business earlier this week, also believes a rapid-response team that meets regularly could share market intelligence about potential threats.
"Organisations individually scan for risks in their operating environment -- but let's have a way of bringing those insights together to help anticipate risks and formulate co-ordinated responses.
"We are too small a country, and the agri-food sector is too important, for national interest not to take priority over individual company interests."
Irrigation funds welcomed
Federated Farmers says farmers will put to good use a $25 million funding boost from the recent Budget for investigation and development of irrigation projects.
The Government will put the money into the Irrigation Acceleration Fund over the next five years to kick start regional irrigation projects.
Federated Farmers spokesman on water Ian Mackenzie says the Government is right to identify nearly every part of New Zealand as being hit by drought in the past three years.
"Water storage for irrigation goes beyond drought relief, though. Building water storage and delivery infrastructure will give far greater reliability of supply for farm operations as well as provide opportunities for finding solutions to some of our environmental issues while providing for recreation."
Mackenzie says different challenges, project scales and community views will result in different governing structures in different locations.
"But commercialising water delivery is not something that sits well with many New Zealanders," he says.
"As chairman of an irrigation scheme, I see clarity of purpose as important. I believe a co-operative structure provides for the best delivery and the longest-term equity without exploitation of users.
"It also gives the best outcome for local communities to use the water resource for a whole range of purposes, from town water supply to recreational uses like sailing."