Keeping the wheel in motion would be the job for the next incumbent and board.
“We’re seeing results.
“The art in the exercise has been in maintaining confidence and faith and eventually the results will come,” Macfarlane said.
The wheel he alluded to was an analogy coined by business guru Jim Collins likening the process of bedding in new business strategy to setting in motion a huge flywheel. It took effort to get the cogs moving but momentum built as the small wins added up and more people got in behind the task.
Macfarlane introduced the wheel concept at the deer industry conference in 2014 to stir up enthusiasm and gain traction for the then new Passion to Profit (P2P) strategy.
P2P aimed to lift profitability across the venison value-chain and targeted a lift in EBIT/kg from $2.34 in 2012 to $3.82 by 2022.
The strategy, backed in 2015 by $8 million of Primary Growth Partnership funding over seven years, centred on a demand-led culture change.
It was an ambitious job given the subdued industry vibe as many downland farmers quit deer in favour of dairy, the venison price average bottomed out at about $6.50/kg and NZ product faced increasing competition in traditional European markets.
“We lacked momentum and confidence,” he said.
The new strategy pushing for greater commitment and collaboration from farmers, processors and marketers was a bit of a risk but one worth taking.
“I think that’s one of the benefits of a small industry. We understood and were prepared to take the risk.”
One of the successes of P2P was the 25 Advance Parties formed around the country requiring farmers to follow through and share the results of onfarm projects aimed at improving profitability.
Also of note was what Macfarlane called the co-opetition of the five venison processors at a level unheard of in the lamb and beef sectors.
“It’s a hugely challenging environment but there have been intelligent and grown-up conversations and that’s given farmers more confidence.”
Definitive results from P2P were still to come but the palpable change in industry confidence was an important pre-cursor.
In the meantime, there were some markers of success such as a reduction in the hind slaughter, a pick-up this season in venison price to $8.50/kg and an increase in processing plant carcase weights, which in part could be attributed to onfarm productivity gains.
Another pleasing sign was the reduction in the gap between off-season and peak pre-Christmas chilled prices proving that overseas marketing programmes were working.
The industry was in a hind rebuilding and production catch-up phase and the board had targeted 2022 to achieve processing stability of about 400,000 animals.
The predicted industry kill for 2017 was 280,000.
Macfarlane said he had never doubted the P2P strategy and it had been a matter of sticking with it and “bulldozing through”.
His parting call was for industry players to familiarise and understand the parts of the value that they weren’t involved with.
“From the market end to the farmer end I see a greater hunger and need to pursue excellence.”
DINZ deputy chairman Glenn Tyrrell acknowledged Macfarlane’s perseverance and conviction that the industry could be and should be performing better, an opinion that wasn’t well received when voiced in 2005.
“He’s made a difference and his legacy will be P2P,” Tyrrell said.
