The inaugural Arable Awards of New Zealand 2022 held at Te Pae, Christchurch was a huge success.
https://www.fedsnews.co.nz/whisky-in-the-jar-at-new-zealands-arable-awards/
Julia's Musings
Farmers shape a high value, high protein, …
June, 2022
low emissions future after meat and dairy …..
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To Eat Wheat: Local or Imported?
October, 2021
Most of us eat grains every day, in bread, cereals, biscuits, pasta and more. But do you know where the grain in this food has come from – or more specifically, the wheat? Ivan Lawrie is Arable Food Industry Council (AFIC) Chairman, and Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) General Manager of Business Operations. He’s followed the story of milling wheat in New Zealand for many years. Here he sets the record straight about milling wheat in New Zealand and introduces a project aimed at improving grower returns by increasing consumer demand for New Zealand ‘grown’ bread.
For the full article click on the link below.
https://www.ravensdown.co.nz/expertise/to-eat-wheat-local-or-imported
Wairarapa pasta wheat pilot – a taste of the future?
May, 2021
Durum wheat project could spearhead regional specialty grains.
Bread made with durum wheat
A project that arose from Wairarapa’s pea weevil infestation could open up for growers a new high-earning, nutritious crop.
It could also create a new commercial model for regional specialty grains that could borrow from the provenance-steeped marketing of wine and craft beer and ride the post-Covid buy-local wave.
Pea weevils were detected in the lower North Island region in 2016, triggering a ban that was only lifted last year when the pest was confirmed eradicated. The pea is one of the higher-value crops grown in Wairarapa, and the Foundation of Arable Research (FAR) spent three years looking into alternative crops.
Durum wheat, used in pasta and specialty pizza bases and breads, emerged as a crop that flourished in the region’s warm, dry summers. FAR is now figuring out how to commercialise the crop, and project lead Ivan Lawrie said it will be taking its lead from consumers.
“We know we can grow the crops and get the quality we need, and we’ve been working with a dozen or so pasta manufacturers and bakers and pizza makers through New Zealand who are really excited about the product and the local provenance story,” Lawrie said.
Ivan Lawrie in a Wairarapa field of durum wheat
“We know our product stacks up well versus the imports from Australia and Italy; we now need to work on how the consumer visualises this product for the future.”
A 2020 Nielsen survey showed that fresh pasta consumption grew by 15% between 2019 and 2020 and consumption of some premium brands rose more than 20%.
One aim of the project is to gauge the price premium consumers may be willing to pay for artisan products containing locally grown durum wheat. Another is to set up a value chain that shifts away from the prevailing farmgate contract-based commodity model for wheat in order to maximise returns to growers and other players, such as breeders and grain traders.
“We want farmers to be integrated with the product. Just like wine regions in New Zealand or the specialist craft brewery movement, we want to try to give a regional flavour to the high-end pasta market,” Lawrie said.
Other regions and crops stand to benefit too, he said. “We want the durum wheat story in the Wairarapa to be a good case study for what could be rolled out in other regions for other niche products.”
Connection
Growers Mick and Karen Williams took part in the durum pilot and plan to continue growing the grain and sell it direct to pasta manufacturers and restaurants.
The family owns Ahiaruhe Farm in Gladstone, near Carterton. Before the pea weevil infestation, peas made up about one-fifth of the farm’s cropped area and was the most profitable crop, as well as being an important part of crop rotation to keep the soil healthy.
Wairarapa wheat grower family, from left: Ollie, India, Karen, Mick and Tom Williams on Ahiaruhe Farm
“Durum wheat ticked some boxes for us personally because it provided a link between the grower and consumer,” Mick Williams said.
“We’re pretty passionate about continuing to grow it and being part of the value chain and having that connection with the consumer, being able to tell a story about the provenance of the food.”
The family has been growing wheat for six years. They produce 120 tonnes of wheat sold for animal feed and 150 tonnes of wheat sold for milling into flour for human consumption annually.
Getting more Kiwis eating NZ wheat
Growers often get a better price for stock feed wheat than for milling wheat, which discourages them from signing long-term contracts with mills. Contracts for milling wheat range from $420 per tonne to $450/t.
Of the 400,000 tonnes of wheat produced in New Zealand every year, only 100,000 tonnes or less gets milled.
Milling wheat, grown mainly in the South Island, is good quality and higher yielding than its trans-Tasman equivalent, but high transport costs to North Island mills make it more expensive than importing Australian wheat, which benefits from a well-established logistics chain including storage at main ports.
There is also consolidation in the buyers of wheat in New Zealand. Major palm oil plantation company, Singapore-based Wilmar International, owns Australasian food group Goodman Fielder, which has seven ‘Kiwi’ bread brands including Vogels, Molenberg and Natue’s Fresh. Wilmar International also buys the wheat for the country’s other main bread maker, Associated British Foods subsidiary George Weston Foods (Tip Top, Burgen, Ploughman’s) and for its mill.
The upshot is that three-quarters of the bread sold in New Zealand is made from grain grown overseas, primarily Australian, a situation that Mick Williams calls “absolutely ludicrous”.
“It’ll take consumer demand to fix it,” he said.
Christchurch traditional pasta-maker Feed the Soul tried out Wairarapa-grown durum wheat
“Most consumers don’t know where the wheat comes from in the bread they’re eating. The value to the farmer per loaf of bread is about 10c, so even doubling the cost of flour would only be another 10c per loaf.”
Lawrie said an extra 20,000 hectares of milling wheat would need to be grown to satisfy the local market. Currently, about 50,000 ha of wheat was grown, of which 10,000-12,000ha is milling wheat.
FAR was pushing hard to get more New Zealand-grown wheat into the market.
A survey by the foundation of 1000 consumers found no understanding of the origins of bread wheat, but 46% of respondents said they would be willing to pay 50c more per loaf if they knew it was entirely New Zealand-made, and a further 10% would pay an extra 20c.
Lawrie said: “We [the wheat industry] could go and build storage, we could buy a ship to take the wheat from the South to North Island, but unless we’ve got the consumer on board, really demanding New Zealand product, we’d be wasting our money. We need consumers to ask: where does this come from?”
The $151,000 commercialisation project received $100,000 from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) through its Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund. MPI also funded the alternative crop project.
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2020/21 Autumn Cereal Cultivar Book
May, 2021
2020/21 Autumn Cereal Cultivar Book is now available by clicking on the link
A taste of Italy and NZ
March, 2021
A taste of Italy and NZ: Christchurch pasta makers share their pro tips.
Friends Steffano Pessina, left, and Alba Micheli are the faces behind Feed the Soul artisan pasta in Christchurch.
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NZ-grown grain project paying off – Farmer Weekly 05 March 2021
March, 2021
United Wheat Growers chair Brian Leadley says New Zealand’s arable farmers are producing some of the best quality and yields in the world and want to see more NZ consumers getting the benefit of that. Photo Annette Scott
An industry drive to increase the use of New Zealand-grown grain is taking off.
In a project started in 2017, the arable industry has been working towards increasing the use of NZ-grown grain through heightening consumer and end-user awareness of the benefits in using locally grown grain.
Wheat is the specific target.
Wheat production has bumped up by 40,000 tonne over the past three harvests and with this season’s milling wheat harvest showing promising signs, the project is on track.
We are looking at some good average yields, with production expected to hold up to further grow that increase this year,” United Wheat Growers (UWG) chair Brian Leadley said.
Initiated by the Arable Food Industry Council (AFIC), the project is being driven by farmers through the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), UWG and the Federated Farmers arable section.
We are seeing increased demand from mills and good uptakes by farmers,” he said.
“It’s certainly adding options for farmers in their farm systems and the farmer support around the project is positive, with a number of new varieties in milling wheat broadening the window of opportunity for planting.
“Arable farmers love growing wheat, and we are good at it.
“We know we are producing some of the best quality and yields in the world, and we want to see our NZ consumers getting the benefit of that.”
NZ plant breeders are also playing their part.
Agronomy plays a big part and our NZ plant breeders are introducing some good varieties that fit well with what can be achieved,” he said.
The mills are also on board.
“Contract pricing is more positive with mills hearing farmers as we ask for early indication signals around demand so we can plan planting,” he said.
“We like to see contracts out as early as possible, but the mills do need to secure their market share first, so we are looking at late-April to early-May for new season contracts.”
NZ imports 230,000t of milling wheat a year, mostly into the North Island, and while the arable industry would like a good share of that, it has to be realistic.
Current milling wheat production in NZ is an average 110,000t a year.
“Extra growth required could come but while we want to grow our market share, we have to do it in a reliable and sustainable way,” he said.
Wheat is grown on a combination of good soils and under irrigation, but there is still a seasonal element in production.
“But compared to other global producers we have more controlled risk factors than any other part of the world, so our ability to supply is reliable once we grow our volumes,” he said.
“We are very strong and consistent given the conditions we grow in.”
While the South Island mills generally use all local grain, there is a push to get more local grain produced in the North Island.
FAR general manager Ivan Lawrie says production growth is specifically focused on growing milling grains in regions where it is not normally grown, including Wairarapa, Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay.
“Our (industry) work is to ensure the varieties we are growing in these new regions and in these markets are meeting the needs of the baking industry,” Lawrie said.
Demand for durum wheat flour is going mad in one regionally-focused project.
While under its pea growing ban and looking for new crops to grow, Wairarapa’s climatic conditions and soils have proven ideal for growing speciality durum wheat.
Processed grain from last harvest has bakers and pasta makers around the country excited.
“It’s about understanding the market and determining the best way to work with growers. Feedback has been really good,” he said.
Chefs, bakers, pasta makers and growers around the country have been busy in the kitchen with new creations using the durum wheat flour from Wairarapa.
“We want to develop a regional flavour and give a good traceable provenance story around it,” he said.
While not a huge project, Lawrie says it is shining as hugely successful.
“A little but great success story that links in well and supports the bigger initiative around using NZ milling wheat,” he said.
Lawrie says there is very clear information around the quality of NZ wheat, its traceability and environmental credentials, and from that FAR is compiling information to better inform consumers and end-users of the benefits in using NZ grain.
“It is the growers and merchants of local grain who have primary interest in the local industry,” he said.
“It is our (FAR) job to convince the bakers and end-users that we are a good and fit for purpose ingredient for baking flour.
“When we have the market aligned, we will press on with issues such as infrastructure and logistics.”
In the meantime, the signals from a recent survey of consumers and end-users show that people are willing to pay for quality NZ-grown grain in their bread.