Nathan Guy: Meat Industry Association Chair on the $1.2 billion opportunity for the red meat sector

The stars are aligning for the red meat sector with record returns and global demand.  

Rabobank's latest report suggests two-million underutilised dairy calves are born each year, at a time when beef prices are hitting record highs.  

It's calling for a coordinated effort across breeding, rearing, and value chains to add an alleged $1.2 billion to the economy. 

Meat Industry Association Chair Nathan Guy told Mike Hosking there's a lot of system change that needs to occur.  

He says farmers know the demand is there, so it's an exciting time. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On the farm. In fact, we've got a new report
on the potential of our dairy and beef sector. Rabobank
tells us the industry is at a quote strategic crossroad,
strong returns nearly two million underutilized dairy carbs though born
each year. So what we need is a coordinated effort
across breeding, reading and value chains so we can add
allegedly an extra one point two billion annually to our economy. Now,

(00:20):
Nathan Guys, the chair of the Meat Industry Association, and
it's back with us. Nathan, Morning, Yeah, morning, Mike, All
this makes sense.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, it's a novel idea. It's actually been talked about
for some time. I remember sitting in a lecture in
Massi University in the early nineteen nineties and Professor Steve
Morris was doing some work on the potential of young
bull beef coming into the system. What happened then was
the stars never rarely properly aligned, unlike now where we've

(00:48):
got the stars are aligning. We've got record returns, The
rare as are back in the system, which is very exciting.
The opportunity for this beef to come through the plants
also exciting because our meat plants do need decent throughput,
and so we've got exciting opportunities ahead. But I guess

(01:09):
also there's a few challenges with this report as well.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Who makes this dance work, who's coordinating all of this.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
We're doing some work with Dairy and z and with
the government and we'll be talking more about a project
that's looking likely to fly very shortly. So there's an
exciting initiative there where we've all come together and realized
there's a massive opportunity. I guess returns really drive it,
and we're also cognizant of the fact that our social

(01:37):
license to operate, we need to reduce these young animals
and try and bring them into the system. But genetics
play a very important part. If you look at what's
happening now, you can now go and get semen that
is sexed, so you can put this into your dairy
cows and guaranteed to get a heifer, so that means
that's positive. And you can play with beef genetics in

(02:00):
your dairy cows and get an animal that's going to
grow faster. In the New Zealand farming system, the real
focus is to try and get an animal through before
the second winter. Because the second winter is when they're big,
they can do quite a bit of damage to soil
and of course the pasture as they're expensive to grow
through the winter as well. So there's a lot of

(02:20):
system change that needs to occur. And also to get
the rears into the system, they need to have a
guaranteed return when an animal is weaned at one hundred
kilos that's now happening. They also need to stand up
and get sheds. And the milk powder price is very high.
So I guess there's a lot of things at play
to get the system to work. But said at the start,

(02:42):
the stars are now aligning.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
How does it work between on farm and where you're at?
For example, if I'm getting good returns, how many farmers
actually go You know what? I'm doing fine? At the moment,
I don't need to think too much about this. Life
is good. Therefore you don't advance, you don't grow.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Oh well, farmers have innovated for a long time mic
or decades. We've been leading the world in innovation. Seamen
sexing is one. If we look at what's happening in
innovation and meat plants, there's a hell of a lot
of investment going on in that space. Farmers react to signals.
They know that the demand is there and there is

(03:18):
change happening, so I think it's an exciting time. We
also know that our beef when you have a look
around the world. There's a recent report out from the
FAO that had a look at the global meat index.
It's been the highest price in July since they've been
recording records across the globe. That's very exciting for us.

(03:39):
We know the returns for beef are going to be
very positive for the next two or three years. So
I reckon we're in a very much sweet spot and
there is going to be a change in terms of
these young animals being taken through. So yep, exciting times ahead.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Only nice to catch up, appreciate it very much. Good insight.
Nathan Guye, chair of the New Zealand Meat Industry Association,
that somewhat of sits this morning sneeze from the dairy industry,
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