July 9, 2014             
 

New Zealand's Silver Fern Farms joins hands with local farmers
   

Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's leading procurer, processor and marketer of beef and lamb, and the Federation of Maori Authorities, are collaborating to provide further benefit to Maori dry stock farmers.

The Federation has over 100 members with assets worth about US$6 billion, and its dry stock farmers deal mainly in pasture grazing beef cattle and sheep.

The relationship has been forming for some time and has been consummated by a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the respective CEOs of the two organisations. This will see Silver Fern Farms become a key sponsor of the Federation's annual conference and its key primary sector forums.

The joint plan that the two parties have committed to initially will focus on: developing farm systems; leveraging collective scale; leveraging collective influence; developing the capacity and capability of people and communities.

There is about 950,000 hectares of productive rural land in Maori ownership, two-thirds of it in pasture supporting dry stock operations. Almost 90% of that land is under the governance of 363 mostly Ahu Whenua Trusts or Incorporations which either are members of the Federation or are eligible to be. These entities are key to the Maori agri-business sector that has improved its performance significantly over the past five years. They have been significant benefactors of the commodity boom that has been a key contributor to the growth in the New Zealand economy over recent years.

The inter-generational view which Maori farmers possess is shared by Silver Fern Farms, whose guiding belief is in sustainable farming, according to the company's chief executive Keith Cooper. "There are strong synergies between us. We are proudly '100% Made of New Zealand' and this partnership will strengthen that belief, as it will our belief in sustainable farming," Cooper said. "We see a great opportunity to weave the rich Maori heritage into our branding on premium products to create value with high end global customers."

"We will develop skills in order to grow the productive capability of Maori Authority farm businesses. There will be good mutual benefit from an increased supply of livestock to the sector, and by the integration of information from plate to pasture," Cooper added.

Federation CEO TeHoripo Karaitiana acknowledges the benefits the collaboration brings to its farmers. "We have focussed very hard for some years now on optimising production and quality to the farm gate," Karaitiana said. "Silver Fern Farms provide a safe passage further along the value chain for those Maori farmers that wish to develop a greater understanding with a view to becoming more active in this area.