Key facts
Programme start: November 2013
Length: 7 years
PGP funding: $32.15 million
Industry funding: $32.15 million
Crown funding paid out to programme for work done to 30 June 2019: $19,538,677
Commercial partners: Alliance Group, ANZ Bank, ANZCO, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Blue Sky Meats, Greenlea Premier Meats, Progressive Meats, Rabobank, and Silver Fern Farms.
Estimated potential economic benefits to NZ: By 2025, up to $880million per annum in additional on-farm revenue, of which up to $194million per annum will be additional on-farm before tax profit.
Programme evaluation
Programme documents
Outcome Logic Model for RMPP – August 2014 [PDF, 108 KB]
Red Meat Profit Partnership Audit – June 2016 [PDF, 429 KB]
Red Meat Profit Partnership progress review report – February 2018 [PDF, 1 MB]
Progress review recommendations and actions in response – February 2018 [PDF, 188 KB]
Background to the programme
Supporting farmers to adopt best practice
This programme focuses on supporting farmers in the adoption of best practice behind the farm gate and between the farm and processor.
There are 9 industry partners alongside Beef + Lamb New Zealand – meat companies Alliance Group, ANZCO, Silver Fern Farms, Greenlea, Blue Sky Meats and Progressive Meats, and banking sector participants Rabobank and ANZ Bank. All will work together, and with other stakeholders in the sector to support the adoption of best practice behind the farm gate, and between the farm and processor.
The challenge
The Red Meat Sector Strategy (RMSS) identified that sector collaboration was ad-hoc at best and generally driven by a particular issue or circumstance.
Farmers are currently subject to a vast array of information; however this information does not always provide tailored solutions that take a 'whole of business' approach. Farmer uptake of agriculture's considerable research and development outputs is generally low, resulting in missed opportunities for productivity gains.
A key component of the required sector change is the need to move the focus of the sector from one that is currently dominated by price, to one that focuses on productivity and profitability, where differences are significant and can be controlled.
The solution
This programme, for the first time, sees a significant collaborative effort by sector participants, uniting those who compete vigorously in the market, in a pre-competitive and unified approach to raise the performance and profitability of sheep and beef farm businesses. By doing so it seeks to better enable a range of proprietary and industry-good programmes, products, tools and services.
To achieve this vision, the partners, alongside the Crown, will invest $64 million over seven years. This Programme, underpinning other Crown funded PGP programmes within the sector, will change the way information and knowledge that supports best practice is developed and delivered within the sector. It will expand on current extension activities for farmers, and develop new information and technology transfer systems by taking a farmer focussed, partnered approach to the delivery of best practice information, developing networks incorporating communities of farmers, advisors, and value chain partners.
While focusing around the farm gate, the programme does not represent a traditional 'production push' strategy. Rather, it signals a move to a more capable, agile and responsive farm businesses better equipped to respond to market signals delivered by programme partners, other PGP investment programmes, and the wider agribusinesses involved in the sector.
Achievements for the 2018/19 financial year
- Based on behavioural research and a three year pilot programme of 70 farmers, the RMPP extension model, the Action Network, is made up of farmer-led action groups of 7-9 farm businesses supported by trained facilitators to guide and help them identify experts who can help them achieve business goals. Over 130 action groups have had their extension plans approved.
- Over 465 rural professionals have now been trained as facilitators (compared with 400 in December). Over 90 of these have qualified through the three levels of training required to facilitate RMPP Action Groups (compared with 80 in December 2018).
- An active communication campaign has raised the awareness of the Action Network among rural professionals and farmers. This campaign is coinciding with a steady increase in Action Group registrations and is continuing to generate interest.
- The New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) developed by RMPP, which is now being used by 16 meat processing companies, underpins the Taste Pure Nature Origin brand. Further work is currently underway to develop a module for sustainable and ethical farming which a number of major overseas customers are demanding.
- The electronic Animal Status Declaration (eASD) pilot continued. Farmers complete the form online before sending animals for processing, making the process faster, easier and more accurate both for farmers and meat companies. Eight meat processors, 27 plants and 1,300 registered users are using eASD.
- DataLinker, the development of which has been funded by RMPP and Dairy NZ, simplifies and standardises data transfer between businesses (map data, benchmarking, livestock genetics, red meat, and pasture). The two RMPP meat companies using DataLinker report that it is working well for them.
- 1,500 women have completed the ‘Understanding your Farming Business’ workshops, supporting women to become critical farming partners by building knowledge, skills and confidence. The ‘Future Focus’ programme run throughout the year brought together farming partners and provided training to help them achieve their business goals and aspirations. Courses on farming financials and succession planning have also been introduced.
- The roll-out of online learning modules continued providing practical information to help farmers make more informed decisions via the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Knowledge Hub. Also posted to the hub are a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) available to farmers linked to Beef + Lamb New Zealand Economic Service data, enabling measurement and benchmarking against similar farming systems.
- RMPP has continued to help the industry attract talent through initiatives in primary and secondary schools, as well as helping tertiary students establish industry networks. Nearly 9,000 students used RMPP developed curriculum resources, took part in farm visits and participated in Teen Ag clubs.
