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Home-grown merino paddock to plate

01-10-2009
Paddock-to-plate marketing of his home-grown Merino lamb has provided highs and headaches for Cardrona farmer Ben Gordon.

"I thought it would be fun and exciting. It's been all of that but a lot more difficult than I thought it would be," Ben says.

Late in 2007 he established Cardrona Merino Lamb along with helicopter pilot friend Richard Poff. The high-value meat cut range is sold to 20 South Island restaurants and at the Dunedin and Wanaka farmers' markets. Last year 2500 lambs were processed and this year 3500 will be sold under the brand.

Sheer frustration with lamb returns late in 2006 preceded Ben's marketing offensive.

"We were selling store lambs and getting around $30 to $40, and finished lambs were around $55 to $60. I thought it was crap, uneconomic, and I wanted to do something about it. Merino is unique but it gets blended in with other lamb and I felt there was an opportunity to market it as a specialty meat."

The bottom line for Ben was to achieve better prices for longer and he's confident of receiving $6.50/kg for the next two seasons.

"It's such a gamble and I wanted to take the gamble out of it by providing price certainty."

Their first step in product development was visiting Wanaka chefs for feedback on Merino lamb carcases.

"I took them a lean 15kg lamb but they told me they wanted more size. They said they needed lamb at the 18kg mark and with more fat."

The news came as a surprise and means that what Ben slaughters for the brand is not lamb but rather eight to 10-month-old hogget. They're slaughtered fortnightly throughout the year at Prime Range Meats, Invercargill, and the carcases trimmed, cut and vacuum packed at Isla Bank Butchers, Invercargill.

"The idea is to have the highest class of cut. It adds cost but we have a good relationship with Isla Bank and they've been very patient with us."

The packaged fresh cuts are delivered by local couriers to restaurant clients throughout the lower South Island or by an Avalon employee Rob Ottrey, who now sells Cardrona Merino at the Saturday Farmers' Market in Dunedin. Ben has been surprised by uptake of the meat at the market.

"I thought that the market would be an outlet for the overflow but I'm rethinking that. It's good to see households are prepared to spend money on quality meat."

A Cromwell distributor of specialty meats also sells the product. Around 10% of each kill is frozen and stored in either Wanaka or Invercargill.

One of the biggest challenges is getting rid of all the cuts. In summer restaurants can't get enough backstraps and cuts suitable for barbecues and light summer salad dishes, whereas winter demand is for shoulders and cuts suitable for hearty, slow-cooked roasts and such like.

"Everything sounds good and straightforward when you start out but you soon learn the complexities and hiccups with the business."

The plan is to spread distribution throughout the North Island.

"We're at the point where we need to decide on what markets we'll focus on."

Pricing of the product has been a "monster" and is an ongoing challenge. Chefs have been helpful but it's always a balancing act to maintain a stable return while remaining price competitive for restaurants that pick and choose from a wide range of local and international suppliers. Prices depend on the cut and ranges from $10 to $32/kg.

Developing a brand was a lengthy exercise: "It took us four months to get the logo. It was a long time but it was very important."

Ben wanted to capitalise on the Cardrona name because of its heritage and high-country image and positive public perception from previous TV exposure of the region. The Cardrona Merino mountain-bred Lamb brand was developed with help from an Invercargill marketing agency who also came up with packaging design and point-of-sale material. A website was developed with the help of friends.

Set-up costs, including brand development, packaging and supply of the first 40 lambs from Avalon cost around $4000.

"We didn't spend a lot because we didn't have a lot to put into it."

Their bank has been helpful and patient but the business has been largely self-funding: "We didn't go for a huge overdraft but had the security of the farm."

Ben and Richard worked to a "loose" business plan.

"You could say we've been in development mode for the last two years and now it's time to put some good business planning in place."

Ben and his wife, Erika, have farmed the family-owned 8000ha Avalon and adjoining Smiths block since 2002. The properties are on the sunny side of the Cardrona Valley, 10km from Wanaka, and run from the valley floor to the top of the Pisa Range. It's picture-perfect country but not the easiest to farm due to summer dry conditions and long cold winters.

Ben's parents Peter and Dee bought undeveloped Avalon in 1974 when it was running fewer than 500 Merinos. The next-door 2000ha Smiths block was bought in 2004 to provide more river flat lamb-finishing country. About 60% of income is from the finishing of home-bred and bought-in lambs made possible by the 130ha of river flats. Almost 60ha of the flats are irrigated by gravity-fed guns which grow short rotation pasture and rape for finishing lambs over summer.

The winters are difficult and winter feeding runs from June until mid-September. About 600 tonnes of silage and 400 bales of baleage is made and fed to ewes, while hoggets graze turnips and silage on the river flats. Winter grazed hoggets, not destined for Cardrona Merino Lamb, are slaughtered between September and November, then up to 2000 black face and Merino lambs are bought in for finishing over the following year.

The first draft of around 200 lambs happens at weaning in the first week of February. The main mob of lambs graze the sunny hill tussock blocks then move to the irrigated lowland to graze "old-fashioned but reliable" Concord ryegrass.

The tail-end mob grazes lucerne. After culling in March the mixed-age ewes graze the high country until the end of April and are then brought to the lower hill country for flushing and tupping in mid-May.

Ben says that up until now he's farmed the properties to a traditional high-country management calendar, but the advent of Cardrona Merino has brought about changes to meet stock supply requirements. Ewe numbers have been reduced from 4000 to 3000 to provide finishing certainty.

"I've been very careful because if I get harsh conditions it will reduce my carrying capacity for lambs and I'd be forced to sell lambs as stores ... I think it's better to be conservative than bullish. You need to have a saleable product so we have to be mindful of our stocking rate."

Rams are bought from Armidale Stud, Ranfurly, and selection emphasis is for dual-purpose, big, robust rams in the 18-micron bracket. From next season lambing will be spread from the end of August until late in November to extend the supply season.

"We'll aim to have 500 lambing one month earlier than we used to and 500 later than usual."

Different-sized store lambs are also bought from neighbours who receive about 10% above the store price. This year around 2000 will be bought, 800 more than in 2008. Next season the area of short rotation grass will be doubled to 40ha, and lucerne from 20 to 50ha to provide more high-energy finishing feed.

Lucerne has proved to be a valuable source of protein. "We get two cuts and then put the tail-end lambs on it for grazing in February; that's productive for a plant that lives for 10 years in a dryland situation."

Another 60ha of irrigation will be added over the next two years to lift the lamb finishing capacity closer to 6000.

The meat marketing business is time-consuming. Ben spends about 60% of his time - much of it in the office and on the phone - ensuring the wheels of Cardrona Merino Lamb keep turning. His on-farm absence is filled by a casual shepherd, who works around 30 hours a week helping long-time full-time stock manager Craig Reveley. Ben says that will change as Cardrona Merino moves to the next level.

"We're moving and now restaurants are approaching us."

A local courier company is going to handle storage and distribution. The marketing and selling will be delegated to Rob Ottrey, and a part-time person will be employed for administration and invoicing.

"I'll get back to farming ... I'm almost there," Ben says.

Written by Lynda Gray

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