Allan Barber

About

Now in his semi-retirement at Point Wells near Warkworth, Allan is a freelance agricultural journalist writing mainly about the meat industry which has remained his key area of interest since leaving AFFCO in 1997.

Member for

12 years 2 months

Latest articles

South America set to dominate beef trade

South America's access to both the giant markets in the US and China will pose a significant challenge to the New Zealand beef trade

6th Apr 16, 11:48am

by Allan Barber

South America's access to both the giant markets in the US and China will pose a significant challenge to the New Zealand beef trade

Ham-fisted definitely, incompetent possibly

Allan Barber assesses Fonterra's disastrous attempts to justify its startling strong-arming of suppliers and thinks these actions point to wider management problems

28th Mar 16, 5:40pm

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber assesses Fonterra's disastrous attempts to justify its startling strong-arming of suppliers and thinks these actions point to wider management problems

Making the best of a bad job

Allan Barber surveys Fonterra's unrelenting optimism and wonders whether its latest result was really as good as it could have been and if the dairy giant really is now in a more robust condition

24th Mar 16, 11:35am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber surveys Fonterra's unrelenting optimism and wonders whether its latest result was really as good as it could have been and if the dairy giant really is now in a more robust condition

Research is critical to future prosperity

Allan Barber reviews the main rural industry research drives but finds the number focused on genuine added value products are not large. But there are some significant ones

17th Mar 16, 10:11am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber reviews the main rural industry research drives but finds the number focused on genuine added value products are not large. But there are some significant ones

What took you so long?

Allan Barber wonders why it took the SOE so long to action a change of strategy toward high value consumers, suspects it's making a virtue out of necessity

11th Mar 16, 9:12am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber wonders why it took the SOE so long to action a change of strategy toward high value consumers, suspects it's making a virtue out of necessity

NAIT satisfaction with progress suggests complacency

Allan Barber reports problems continue with the NAIT tracking and transfer systems and there appears no urgency by the system operators to sort them out

4th Mar 16, 10:24am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber reports problems continue with the NAIT tracking and transfer systems and there appears no urgency by the system operators to sort them out

Alliance enforces shareholding commitment to match supply

Allan Barber says meat companies will be successful if they don't involve paying too much for livestock, focuses on markets, their cost base, and suppliers

16th Feb 16, 7:07pm

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber says meat companies will be successful if they don't involve paying too much for livestock, focuses on markets, their cost base, and suppliers

Quota allocations suggest change in balance of industry power

AFFCO shines as it gains support from farmers by focusing on efficiency and market success, winning it additional quota allocation

4th Feb 16, 10:56am

by Allan Barber

AFFCO shines as it gains support from farmers by focusing on efficiency and market success, winning it additional quota allocation

Hard to see where sheepmeat solution will come from

Allan Barber notes the market fundamentals for sheepmeat are very fragile and unlikely to improve in the short term; there are even question marks over the long term

28th Jan 16, 8:43am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber notes the market fundamentals for sheepmeat are very fragile and unlikely to improve in the short term; there are even question marks over the long term

Partnerships the key to China business models

Allan Barber says that while partnerships help everywhere, it is especially true in China, because it "is different"

14th Jan 16, 9:08am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber says that while partnerships help everywhere, it is especially true in China, because it "is different"

MPI’s SOPI report suggests it's on a different planet

Allan Barber is baffled by the Ministry for Primary Industries' latest outlook report, suggesting it's too rosy

23rd Dec 15, 11:00am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber is baffled by the Ministry for Primary Industries' latest outlook report, suggesting it's too rosy

Hard for cooperatives to satisfy both shareholder and customer demands

Rapidly changing customer preferences makes it tough for cooperatives to deliver their supplier-shareholders' expectations. Allan Barber reviews how Fonterra, SFF and Alliance deal with the challenge

16th Dec 15, 11:51am

by Allan Barber

Rapidly changing customer preferences makes it tough for cooperatives to deliver their supplier-shareholders' expectations. Allan Barber reviews how Fonterra, SFF and Alliance deal with the challenge

Food safety responsibility within MPI still causing major problems

Food safety and protection from biological risk are the last of MPIs core priorities, says Allan Barber. He thinks they should be first in another agency's list of responsibilities

8th Dec 15, 9:36am

by Allan Barber

Food safety and protection from biological risk are the last of MPIs core priorities, says Allan Barber. He thinks they should be first in another agency's list of responsibilities

Season has contrasting impact on Silver Fern Farms and Alliance

The South Island co-ops are turning an industry of ugly ducklings into one on a sound efficient footing. Offer farmers better sustainable choices says Allan Barber

26th Nov 15, 8:46am

by Allan Barber

The South Island co-ops are turning an industry of ugly ducklings into one on a sound efficient footing. Offer farmers better sustainable choices says Allan Barber

Silver Fern Farms’ recovery signals end to losses

Allan Barber says the latest SFF results are a watershed and shows that the business is back 'under control'; and without debt, farmer shareholders may get better returns with 50% ownership than 100%

11th Nov 15, 11:35am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber says the latest SFF results are a watershed and shows that the business is back 'under control'; and without debt, farmer shareholders may get better returns with 50% ownership than 100%

Exit from EU could cripple UK agriculture

British farms are 'laughably unprofitable' without subsidies and protection says a UK report claiming EU support measures are the only thing keeping the sector alive

7th Nov 15, 8:37am

by Allan Barber

British farms are 'laughably unprofitable' without subsidies and protection says a UK report claiming EU support measures are the only thing keeping the sector alive

'Before owning the value chain it has to be bought or created'

Allan Barber again defends the Silver Fern Farms-Shanghai Maling deal, saying perennial expectation SFF was a year away from disaster was bad for the whole industry

28th Oct 15, 2:41pm

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber again defends the Silver Fern Farms-Shanghai Maling deal, saying perennial expectation SFF was a year away from disaster was bad for the whole industry

'Let down and ripped off'

Allan Barber says the Independent report and road show fail to satisfy all Silver Fern shareholders

15th Oct 15, 5:05am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber says the Independent report and road show fail to satisfy all Silver Fern shareholders

Red meat sector is about to enter an exciting new phase

Allan Barber sees a stronger SFF stimulating the whole meat industry to focus on value added production destined for higher paying markets, which will necessitate paying suppliers for performance

1st Oct 15, 8:27am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber sees a stronger SFF stimulating the whole meat industry to focus on value added production destined for higher paying markets, which will necessitate paying suppliers for performance

Silver Fern receives an offer it can’t refuse

Allan Barber says Shanghai Maling is no Trojan horse and is probably much a better owner than the Vesteys and Borthwicks of the past. And farmers will still hold "a powerful weapon"

30th Sep 15, 2:10pm

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber says Shanghai Maling is no Trojan horse and is probably much a better owner than the Vesteys and Borthwicks of the past. And farmers will still hold "a powerful weapon"

Chinese deal looks good for Silver Fern Farms & NZ

Allan Barber points out Shanghai Maling is both replacing the short-term banks, plus investing heavily long-term, both without full control or exclusivity. So what's the downside?

15th Sep 15, 4:43pm

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber points out Shanghai Maling is both replacing the short-term banks, plus investing heavily long-term, both without full control or exclusivity. So what's the downside?

Australia faces similar problems with Chinese investment

Allan Barber says Australia is struggling with irrational local community reactions to assessing foreign rural investment, and New Zealand has some clear advantages in this process

9th Sep 15, 11:02am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber says Australia is struggling with irrational local community reactions to assessing foreign rural investment, and New Zealand has some clear advantages in this process

Cooperatives and private companies work best in agriculture

Allan Barber reviews the enterprise structures in the New Zealand agribusiness sector and finds what works best for this industry

2nd Sep 15, 7:53am

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber reviews the enterprise structures in the New Zealand agribusiness sector and finds what works best for this industry

Democracy, apathy or revolution

Allan Barber reports on the latest MIE proposal to bring the two cooperative processors together. Enforceable supply contracts and levy deductions without price guarantees, lie at its heart

20th Aug 15, 1:22pm

by Allan Barber

Allan Barber reports on the latest MIE proposal to bring the two cooperative processors together. Enforceable supply contracts and levy deductions without price guarantees, lie at its heart

NZ and Australia likely to trigger US beef quota

High beef production volumes comes when prices are high, US demand strong, and exchange rate low

15th Aug 15, 5:30pm

by Allan Barber

High beef production volumes comes when prices are high, US demand strong, and exchange rate low