"Over the last few years we have put a big effort into driving extension programmes to support farmers."
Topics included farm profitability, management of animals, new crops, livestock nutrition and the organisation also piloted workshops on budgeting and business management.
The sector has issues that would not be solved overnight, but farmer confidence has lifted. Too often people looked at the negatives, says Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty provincial president Rick Powdrell. "The meat industry is not broken. If you look at the top 10 to 15 per cent of beef and lamb farmers, figures show they are right up there as far as production levels against dairy," he says.
The objective is to work within the farm gate and lift the game of middle farmers.
"At the moment it's a bell curve and if you move the bell to the higher end it means more production and more returns and the farmers and industry will be better off."
Powdrell says he has driven his farm harder than in the past: "We are fairly productive and have done a lot of work with the mix of our stock to get the right blend."
He farms 441 effective hectares and carries 2100 ewes, 525 hoggets, 300 rising 2-year-old dairy grazers, 250 rising 1-year-old calves, 23 carry-over dairy cows and 105 steers.
Volatile market prices are an ongoing challenge but farmer optimism had shifted, he says.
Beef and Lamb NZ mid-northern farmer council chairman Rick Burke says genetics have improved dramatically.
"That is why our lambing percentage and carcass weights have gone up.
"The top farmers realise they need to feed their sheep adequately to capture their full genetic potential."