Projects working on improving New Zealand beef herd genetics and eliminating the effects of facial eczema will receive $1.7 million from the NZ Meat Board.
The Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) genetics project will receive $700,000 and up to $1m will be allocated to the Eliminating Facial Eczema Impacts (EFEI) project.
The decision follows consultation with sheep and beef farmers on how to distribute interest and dividends generated from the NZ Meat Board’s $79m reserves fund towards industry good projects.
Board chair Kate Acland said the investment comes at a critical time for the sector given it is facing significant financial pressures.
The programme to improve beef genetics will develop tools to help farmers drive productivity and profitability within the beef herd.
Acland said it is on track to achieve its goals of boosting the sector’s profits by $460m over the next 25 years.
The facial eczema project aims to provide tools, knowledge and solutions for farmers to combat the disease while also improving productivity in the red meat and dairy sectors.
The Meat Board has three roles, Acland said.
“One is to achieve the best possible ongoing returns from sheepmeat and beef exports to international quota markets.
“It currently oversees $2.6 billion of red meat exports to the quota markets of the European Union, United Kingdom and United States, representing tariff savings of $934m a year for the sector.”
The board also administers significant farmer reserves, currently standing at $79m, held as a contingency fund to help NZ re-enter export markets in the event of a biosecurity incursion or disruption in quota markets.
The Meat Board “allocates interest and dividends, after reserve expenses, from this fund, in consultation with farmers, for industry good projects like INZB and EFEI”, she said.
