A new meat and dairy certification system has been developed by a Te Awamutu dairy farmer.
The certification system aims to capture the true value of meat and dairy exports grown on pastoral farms and is expected to add at least 5 per cent to the sectors’ current export earnings.
Wayne Shaw says he saw an opportunity to showcase New Zealand farms, and their meat and dairy products, as being among the best in the world.
He developed Rangedfree, which is in the final stages of trademark registration, a process for meat and dairy exports that highlights to international consumers its animals have been raised and live outdoors.
The meat and dairy sectors are New Zealand’s highest export earners. According to Statistics New Zealand, in 2017 dairy exports were valued at $14 billion and meat exports at $6.6 billion.
“The way we farm in New Zealand, where our animals are allowed to roam freely outside and graze on pasture, is not common farming practice in many countries overseas, even though it’s so normal to us,” says Wayne.
He has worked on dairy farms in Canada and the US and says New Zealand farms — and their farmers — are highly-regarded overseas.
“We’re seen as the pinnacle, the top-end of meat and dairy producers,” he says.
“The way we farm is so normal to us that we haven’t set our export price for meat and dairy accurately — we’re underselling ourselves.”
Wayne says the Rangedfree certification will provide an opportunity for New Zealand’s meat and dairy sectors to showcase the premium nature of their products with a widespread, industry-recognised brand.
Source: NZHerald.co.nz