Meat industry’s future in producers hands

THE CYNICAL suggestion “Vote early, and vote often” is attributed to infamous gangster Al Capone and his attempts to rig elections in his general favour.
While there is no suggestion of any such unsavoury behaviour in the upcoming meat co-operative elections, the call for red meat producers to participate has gone out loud and clear – vote!
Sheep and beef producers are being extolled to participate in both the Alliance Group and Silver Fern Farm director elections and help change the outlook for the struggling red meat sector. These calls are led by the farmer lobby group and agent for sector change, the Meat Industry Excellence group (MIE), which believes new blood on both the boards of Silver Fern Farms and Alliance Group will see the start of its proposed industry revolution.
MIE chairman John McCarthy claims the upcoming meat co-op elections “offered a clear choice between the status quo, which was unsustainable, and a chance to take control of the value chain and force the much-needed change….”
Lofty claims, but are they realistic? Are these assertions simplistic and naïve?
Former MIE members Richard Young and Dan Jex-Blake are both standing for election to the Silver Fern Farms board. And fellow ex-MIE member Don Morrison has tossed his hat into the ring for the Alliance board.
However, a move by MIE to get Fonterra director John Monaghan also onto Alliance’s board hit a technical glitch. Monaghan was ruled out as a farmer candidate for Alliance’s board when it deemed he did not meet the company’s constitutional criteria for farmer-elected directors.
Now there’s an effort to get him appointed as an independent. Alliance chairman Murray Taggart told Rural News (Nov 5) that Monaghan’s background doesn’t appear to fit the criteria the board are looking for in an independent to replace Owen Poole. While not questioning Monaghan’s ability, Taggart said Alliance needs diversity at its board table and already had strong representation from farming and dairying. All fair points.
No one would argue that current red meat returns are sustainable or desirable. Nor does anyone not think better returns for all parts of the meat sector are necessary.
Who knows if MIE-backed candidates are the right or wrong answer to the industry’s serious problems? That is for meat co-op shareholders to ultimately decide.
However, what red meat producer cannot afford do is allow apathy to rein. They need to get abreast of the industry issues, ask questions, do their homework then cast an informed vote.
Sheep and beef farmers cannot constantly complain about poor returns and need for industry reform if they do not exercise their electoral duty. It is as simple as that.