IN TH IS ED ITI ON
Bulletin WINTER 2022 EDITION
+ GREENLEA... WE’RE WAY MORE THAN BEEF + FARM WITHOUT HARM + MORRINSVILLE UPDATE
GREG’S COLUMN What do I know, eh?! In the Autumn Bulletin I stated we had dodged the drought bullet, and in mid-May parts of the Waikato were placed into drought by the Minister for Agriculture. Thankfully, rain has arrived, and temperatures remain in the high teens still. I’m thinking too little too late for most to get winter feed levels anywhere near appropriate, but something is better than nothing. The East Coast took a hammering from the weather gods. Flooding has led to massive disruptions in stock management. This scenario reiterates something I often highlight; just how large a part the weather plays in what you and we do for a living. The season to date is really one out of the box. We have filled every hook available to us, but it is looking like we will end up between five to seven thousand cattle behind last season. Most of the disruption can be put down to the effects of Covid, both on the workforce and the supply chain. We are still having shipping schedule issues with China as they look to eliminate Omicron altogether. Despite the current issues the market is still buoyant, the NZ dollar is at pleasing levels, and farm gate prices are at historically high levels. There are no immediate signs to discourage a continuation of this good news through winter and on to the end of the season. Schedules historically bottom out in April and peak in September across all species. So, if we look at prime, from its bottom in April/May to its peak in
September there is historically a $1 change. The export industry has bottomed out at $5.90 for a P2 top weight animal this month. So here I am predicting we could well break the $7 barrier this Sept/Oct for the appropriately conditioned cattle. It’s great to see our borders finally opening. Long may it last. Already I am aware of some brave souls hopping on planes and heading overseas. What the agriculture industry needs though is for bodies to come the other way and get behind the wheel of a tractor, into a cowshed or in our case into a boning room. The big bosses have committed to a round of supplier meetings through the rest of the season to underpin Greenlea’s commitment to help our farmer suppliers navigate the maze of compliance and regulation relative to greenhouse gas numbers, carbon emissions, Farm Plans and Farm Assurance Programs. These meetings are also an opportunity to gather and get to hear Tony Egan’s opinions on everything from the marketplace to how Covid 19 has affected the workforce. We will see you there.
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