25 Nov 2013

Meat farmers urged to look to positives

12:35 pm on 25 November 2013

Sheep and beef farmers have been urged to stop beating up on themselves over comparisons with the ever-expanding dairy industry.

The industry is continuing to lose land to dairy farm conversions.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand's new chairperson James Parsons told Federated Farmers meat and fibre representatives that has left the industry with low self-esteem.

Mr Parsons says that bench-marking is a more constructive way of measuring individual farmer performance than making simple profit comparisons.

He says bench-marking would show top performing sheep and beef farmers are also making great gains, but without the financial risk faced by some dairy farmers.