Top Paddock Autumn 2018 | Page 5

FMG Cattleman Weekend Our 2017 Allflex Intermediate Ambassador, CALLUM WOODHOUSE, recently attended the Generation Angus NZ Cattleman weekend at the end of February. Read Callum’s overview of the weekend and what the Generation Angus group got up to during their weekend in Auckland. Having just landed in the big smoke for the first time I was soon tasked with locating my bag and the rest of the Generation Angus group. After a few wrong turns, I finally found my way to the van and we were soon on the straight and narrow to Ponsonby. Here we were treated to a boutique food market with an interest in the Neat Meats retail Shop. The next day was spent in conference listening to very passionate speakers talk about social media, marketing and synthetic proteins. It is both a very exciting and challenging time to be a farmer. We were then able to unwind a bit with the following day being spent up the sky tower and at the zoo. It was an awesome experience with a good group of We were then lucky enough to hear from Tim Erikson, a people in a part of New Zealand that I wouldn’t usually experience. It provided an opportunity to look at co-owner of Neat Meat, who explained the business’s humble beginnings and their visions that go with that. In agriculture from the consumers perspective rather than from behind the farm gate, which is going to be one of the shop front they had an impressive meat dry ager, the keys to pasture – fed protein in the future. and from what he said, must have cost, an arm and a leg – excuse the pun. The Neat meats warehouse was equally impressive with its state of the art machinery and quick turnover of products. We soon moved on to another ridiculously fancy super market in another severely over-priced suburb. Farro fresh has a unique supply relationship with the Taupo meats company which takes an interesting twist on gate to plate marketing. That night it was awesome to listen to everyone who made up the Generation Angus group who came from all around the country and learn about the stage that they are at in agriculture and how they got there. Farming is certainly an exciting industry to be in as a young person! FUTURE BEEF NEW ZEALAND 5