Rick's Beef: Last flick of winter's tail

Rick Burke.

Over the past fortnight we have started to see the first signs of spring, with pasture growth rates lifting from the mid teens to 20-25kg of dry matter per day.

Hopefully most of you are through lambing so the last flicks of winter's tail won't have too much affect on lambs.

We've had a few Aussie mates staying with us for the last week so Saturday night was great to stick it to them with the Bledisloe Cup staying on this side of the ditch for yet another year.

New market strategy

Working collaboratively, B+LNZ and the processing industry have developed an industry-wide marketing strategy which gives different organisations clearly defined areas of responsibility.

B+LNZ will be responsible for marketing at a higher level - telling the New Zealand story - while processors will leverage off that story in marketing their own products. This means there is little crossover, as processors will be operating within different horizons from B+LNZ.

This is something our industry has been crying out for and is a visionary approach to marketing our beef and lamb, telling that unique NZ story about how we farm and look after our livestock, our landscapes and our communities.

Certainly B+LNZ has the skills and resources to articulate the story of New Zealand sheep and beef farming - but most importantly, it's about encouraging farmers to share their stories with consumers hungry for this sort of information.

Beef: Prime schedules remain firm. Local trade is the driving force in this market with prices between $5.75- 5.90/kg freight paid this week. Export schedules lag behind this at $5.60-5.70/kg with differing premiums on top for Angus.

Lamb: There is some variance in lamb operating prices this week.
The shortage of supply has many processors struggling to meet order requirements, which is resulting in some large spot premiums. $6/kg has been paid this week for some deals, particularly if there are large lines available.