Jul 18, 2025
We’re past the shortest day and much of the country is seeing some sun finally. I know this is doing wonders for the mindset of those around South Canterbury, me included.
Our thoughts are with those at the top of the South Island who’ve been inundated with rain and flooding twice now. The local NZDFA branches are good support networks for anyone needing help or just a listening ear.
Venison contracts are out and at good levels for the coming season, beef and lamb schedules are at record levels. It’s nice to have some positivity again after a couple of tough years. Yes, buying store stock is expensive and feels risky, but margins still look solid in the near to medium term.
There are also lots of rumours flying around about the upcoming velvet season. As an industry we need to carefully negotiate this season to preserve the value we have built and need.
It is also good to see that breeders (across sheep, beef and deer) are finally getting some reward with a general shortage of stock. It definitely feels a better time to be farming than the past couple of years. There is still a lot of work going on at the coalface to ensure we can continue to farm in a sustainable, profitable manner.
And it’s a good time to remember to keep in touch with your networks and make educated decisions that best benefit you. A focus for the Executive Committee is constant, clear communication with the DINZ board, farmers and markets so we can get consistent, clear messages back to you, the branches and farmers, to give you the best ability to make decisions.
It is also with great pleasure we welcome Hamish Fraser back to the DINZ board for another term along with new appointee Simone Hoskin. Personally, and as an Executive Committee we are looking forward to working with both Hamish and Simone to continue to better our industry and utilise the skills and experience they both bring to the table.
The Selection and Appointments Panel was spoilt for choice with candidates seeking to add to our industry this year. We would like to thank the unsuccessful candidates, especially Jacqueline Rowarth for her skills, passion, knowledge and perspective, she has bought to the industry over her term as a director.
Keep an eye out later in this issue of Stagline for Executive Committee messages around things you as farmers can control for the upcoming velvet season.
Also details on the upcoming mixed species workshops in the North Island in collaboration with Beef and Lamb and DFA branches. In May we were lucky enough to host one of these workshops in South Canterbury at our property, with input of other multispecies farmers Charlie Johns and Hamish Orbell and subject matter experts Ginny Dodunski and Wayne Allan. There were really good lessons and reminders for identifying areas where we can improve our efficiency, sustainability and profitability across the species.
Finally, I would encourage everyone again to stay well connected leading into the new season. Feel free to reach out to myself, other exec members or branches to seek information to allow you to make the best decisions possible. If we can’t directly help, we’ll make sure to find someone who can.
Tom MacFarlane
NZDFA Executive Committee
