SFF now flavour of the month

You've got to hand it to Silver Fern Farms. The farmer-owned meat co- operative has gone from villain to hero in recent years reports Stuff. Not so long ago, when it went by the uninspiring moniker of PPCS and was upbraided by the courts for underhand takeover tactics, it had an unsavoury reputation. But over the past year or two that has changed. With the new, more marketable name has come a new business strategy that seeks to control the product from the farm though the supply, processing and marketing pipeline to the retailer. It's a system that embodies the catch-phrase "pasture to plate". Silver Fern is not the only NZ meat company doing this, but it's the biggest and at the moment it's doing it the best. That's because it has pulled off a couple of important deals lately. The first is to supply French grocery co-operative Intermarche with Silver Fern-branded chilled lamb. It is believed to be the first time French supermarkets have agreed to allow branded lamb from NZ - until now it has been sold under the supermarket's own brand. The second deal is yet to be announced, but it is just as significant. It is to sell Silver Fern- branded fresh lamb in NZ supermarkets. It is a departure for each of the local chains, Progressive and Foodstuffs, who cut and package red meat under their own brands. From November 16, Silver Fern's small leg roasts, loin fillets, boneless rumps and lamb stir-fry will be on the shelves. This will be premium product, reliably lean and tasty, and will be priced accordingly. The key to the success of both deals will be Silver Fern's ability to supply lamb to the high quality expected of it, in the numbers and sizes required throughout the year. This begins with the farmers who are members of Silver Fern's Backbone Partnership Club, already suppliers to Tesco and Marks and Spencer in Britain and to retailers in Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. If the deals are successful, the clubs will have to expand. This will send a ripple through the sheep industry. I feel that the success of Silver Fern is so crucial to the success of New Zealand agriculture that it cannot go unsupported by the Government. In the same spirit that Prime Minister John Key was prepared to financially support other major companies during the recession, now is a good time to get in behind this company. The Government could start by doing all it can to get Silver Fern and its fellow co-operative, Alliance, to join forces.