Office Update

190,000 Celebrate Summer with Ham, Roast Pork & BBQ's booklets have now been shipped and delivered to selected supermarkets and butcheries throughout New Zealand.

Interestingly, of the 10,000 Summer booklets we had sent to the office here in Christchurch, we are down to the last few boxes with only 3,000 left with orders coming in thick and fast from the smaller retailers and butcher stores. The feedback has been really positive, with butchers saying that they sell hams all year round and it’s just what they needed.
 
Since the great feedback and repeat in demand we are busy like elves working on the next booklet which should be hitting the retail and butcher stores at the end of January. Keep your eyes peeled!! 

Click here or send us an email to order your very own copy of the Celebrate Summer Booklet.

Environmental

Council Submissions and Decisions
A submission was made on the Bay of Plenty Plan Change 9- Water Quantity and further submissions are due on the proposed Environment Southland Water and Land Plan.
Waikato Healthy Rivers Plan Change (Proposed Regional Plan Change 1) submissions close on 8 March 2016. Part of the northwest Waikato is to be withdrawn from this plan change to allow for consultation with Hauraki to occur. NZPork will be putting in a submission and getting in touch with Waikato based farmers. Feel free to contact us now if you have any immediate concerns.
The District Plan review process is underway for Timaru District Council, Selwyn District Council and Far North District Council.
 
Environment Canterbury- compliance deadline 1 January 2017
A number of areas within Canterbury have a resource consent deadline of 1 January 2017. Farmers in these areas would have received an email from NZPork in November. Do contact us if you have any questions about what is needed to submit a resource consent application. Please note that the GMP Loss Estimator tool (Portal) cannot accept the standalone pig module (PigSeer) files. Therefore, piggeries are bound to their baseline until 2020 and then after that date work out their GMP loss rate. It is expected that once the pig module has been integrated with the main OVERSEER tool (due November 2017) that the Portal can be used.
 
New fact sheet from WorkSafe- contractors on farms
WorkSafe New Zealand have published a new fact sheet about the use contractors on farms. This includes a useful checklist of what the farmer can ask the contractor prior to them starting work. Farmers like other businesses have a responsibility to work with the contractor to meet their overlapping duties every time a contractor comes on farm. The fact sheet is available online here.

Jeska McHugh

Farming confirmed as the most dangerous job in the country

Farming continues to be New Zealand's most dangerous occupation, with 19 deaths last year, 16 of them in vehicles. While the emphasis has been on quad bike accidents in recent years, tractors and other vehicles are equally implicated in deaths.
Click here to read more.

 

Technical

Cereals:

	Auckland /Waikato		Manawatu		Canterbury
Barley	400	+40	365-400	+20-55	300-310	+15-25
Maize	420	+40	385-400	+25-35	na	na
Wheat	410	+35	385-400	+25-35	290-310	nc to +20

Barley: At a glance – demand and price increases.

A sudden upward change in the barley market from last month’s October report.
Since the Kaikoura earthquake, the freight north was initially a challenge, with extra cost and time on trucks, as rail freight is no longer an option. Containers of grain are being moved by boat to Auckland and bulk shipments are being off loaded in Wanganui. This is to service the southern North Island where increased interest from dairy farmers leading to extra demand, which is reported as being slow to steady. This has led to a ‘cleaning up’ of stocks of all grains. Imported grain to supply the upper North Island will be an option if prices continue to rise.
 In the South Island the barley price has increased and supply has tightened. The dairy sector is reported as “coming back to life” and buying more with steady demand. The backlog of old season barley is being cleared and this is being ‘eroded’ with commentators reporting “bits and pieces” now going to dairy farmers. They expect this demand to pick up. Contacts predict there will not be a large carry over of stocks into 2017.
Looking forward to the new season, current crops are described as being “excellent”, “couldn’t be better”, “looking fantastic”, and “very good but could do with more sunshine”. Predictions are for good yields of good quality grain and while the yield potential is good, this is tempered by the comment that “we won’t know until it is in the silo”. Overall acreage is reported as being down by more than 20% from last season.
 
Wheat: At a glance- price increases but stocks still available
In the North Island, a similar situation to barley, in that product is having extra freight cost in bringing it up from the South Island. Imports from Australia are reported as being be a cheaper option at present. In the South Island wheat stocks are reported as being better than barley due to less demand from the dairy sector and the carry over into 2017 will be greater than that for barley. demand is reported as “flat” as barley is the preferred option for dairy farmers. Descriptions of the progress to date of new seasons crop are the same as for barley, in that they are very good. The area sown for feed wheat is reported as being similar to last year.
 
Maize: At a glance – Late planting and price increases.
Upper North Island: There has been a sudden pick-up in demand and now maize is reported as “hard to find”, with the comment that “not as much around as we thought”. The weather affected plantings, means crops are “well behind where they should be”, and this is leading to concern about yield potential because with the later start the crops will be more drought prone as we go into the summer.
In the lower North Island, Demand has picked up a lot, with the steady up take reported as “cleaning up” a lot of the stocks on hand.  New Season crops are also late and behind where they should be due to wet weather and cold soil conditions. Contacts report that crops will not be “fence high by Christmas” and this will affect “yield potential”.
 

Proteins

Price/tonne	NI		SI
MBM	750-840	nc	840– 921	nc
Blood	1100-1050	nc	1100 -1238	nc
Fish meal	2650	nc	2025	nc
SM Blend	1375	nc	1575	nc
Ext soya	675	nc	788	nc
Soya Oil	1300	nc	2398	+198
Tallow	1080-1100	nc to +100	1080-1110	nc to 100
Lysine ( kg)	4.0	nc	2.25	nc
Methionine (kg)	11.50	nc	6.00-6.66	nc

 
At a glance – Firming of meat and bone meal and blood meal
This month porkoutlook contacts indicate reductions no real movement in ingredient prices at present apart from some upward shift in tallow reported from one supplier.  However, there are predictions from contacts that most proteins will increase in the New Year.
 

Pig meat prices

	Auckland/ Waikato		Manawatu		Canterbury
	$/kg	trend (cents)	$/kg	trend (cents)	$/kg	trend (cents)
pork	3.95-4.05	nc	3.90-4.00	nc	3.85	nc
bacon	3.85-3.95	nc	3.80-3.90	nc	3.65	nc
chopper	1.55 - 1.65	nc	1.55 – 2.00	nc	2.00	nc

Note: Prices above relate to: Pork D1 class, Bacon H2 class

Schedule comment
At a glance – No change to pigmeat prices in November 

During November, the market was reported as being “steady”, “steady inquires”, “pick up in demand happening”, “maintaining customers”,” customers loyal to NZ product”, “bringing  pigs forward to meet demand”  “in balance” “no upward pressure on price”, “demand for extra pigs not strong” and “will be good until Christmas”. The Kaikoura earthquake caused little market disruption with supply being able to be substituted and the transport links quickly re- established from the South Island. However there is extra freight cost and a much longer trip.While wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Hogsnort states that he “hopes the status quo for demand lasts up to Christmas and   the pork market demand continues into the New Year in a steady as she goes basis. This will be necessary to get through the period of short weeks and then for demand to pick up in February.”  Hogsnort “looks forward to more pigmeat price rises in 2017 than this year and when the increases come they need to be closer together than they were in 2016.”

Ian Barugh

Country of Origin Food Bill

Consumers Right to Know Country of Origin of Food Bill
Last week the consumers Right to Know the Country of Origin Food bill was pulled from the ballot in parliament.
New Zealand Pork supports the introduction of COOL labeling on the basis we believe consumers have the right to know where their food comes from. COOL labeling provides consumers with information on which to make informed choices at point of sale.
In terms of pork sales retailers are not required to label cuts of imported pork, therefore most consumers just imagine most of the pork that’s available in meat cabinets throughout the country is grown in New Zealand, when in actual fact 58 percent of it is imported!
New Zealand Pork will be working closely with regulators, farmers, retailers and the wider primary production sector to ensure clear guidelines and information is provided to the select committees that will be hearing the bill through the various readings in 2017.

Click here for information on the food bill.

Job Vacancies

Pig farm position available
Another staff member is required for a Lower North Island farrow to finish pork production unit. The candidate will need to be experienced in all aspects of pork production and use initiative in this role. There is potential to grow this position as the farm is about to undergo development and increase in size.  
If you are interested please send references and contact details to Pork Position, 530 Gladstone Road, RD2, Carterton.

For more Trading Post's and Vacancies click here!