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A new logo will now make it easier for consumers to identify and source products made from high-quality New Zealand grown grain.
By launching the “New Zealand Grown Grains” logo, arable growers hope to tap into a strengthening desire by consumers for locally-sourced food as well as reduce reliance on imported product.
Most consumers are unaware that when they buy bread from the supermarket it is more likely to be made from imported, rather than domestically-grown milling wheat. This is despite New Zealand arable growers producing some of the world’s best quality grain.
The certification trademark for products made with New Zealand-grown grains is the initiative of growers via their levy organisation, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR). FAR general manager of business operations Ivan Lawrie says the certification trademark will start appearing on packaging and advertising, with interest already shown by bakers as well as makers of breakfast cereal and plant-based milk. The trademark not only applies to milling wheat, but also other grains such as oats barley and maize, as well as seeds.
Launching the logo in Auckland as part of the Eat NZ Hui, Lawrie noted that while Auckland is the country’s most populated region, it received the least amount New Zealand-grown grains. Instead most bread purchased in the North Island uses grain imported from Australia. This is because it is cheaper for North Island flourmills to import grain from Australia than freight it from Canterbury, where it is predominantly grown.
At least three-quarters of the bread sold in New Zealand is made from imported grain, with 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of milling wheat imported each year.
As wheat only represents about 40 cents of the cost in a standard loaf of bread, greater use of domestically-grown grain is expected to have a marginal impact on consumer prices, Ivan Lawrie says.
“To be sustainable for growers, the price of wheat needs to rise by 10-15 per cent. This is just on the value of the wheat component, not the whole cost of producing a loaf. There are categories of bread that can easily carry this.
“There is space in the market for every type of loaf, from $1 white bread to a $7 sour dough.”
Products using the Grain Mark can include up to 20 per cent of imported or blended ingredients, to allow for ingredients such as yeast which may not be available domestically.
Grain Mark Ambassador, celebrity TV chef Nadia Lim told the launch that it will “open up the conversation” and lift consumers’ awareness. Nadia Lim and her husband Carlos Bagrie own Royalburn Station near Queenstown, which despite its high altitude has a history of growing quality grain since the 1800s.
While creating several added-value ventures, including supplying the malting barley for Swifty beer in a joint venture with brewers Garage Product, most of their cereal production is for livestock feed. “The reality of our business is that we are still significantly tied to dairy farming. Only 10-15 per cent of our cropping volumes are for human consumption and we would like to increase this,” Nadia Lim says.
Carlos Bagrie says that if returns lifted by 10-15 per cent this would make a difference to growers’ bottom line. “If we turn the engine off on arable farming it will be very hard to restart it again.”
While dairy and sheep and beef sectors are enjoying record prices, arable farmers are struggling to achieve profitable returns and hope the logo can revitalise their sector and expand production.
Mid Canterbury mixed arable farmer Brian Leadley says it is disappointing to be competing with imported milling wheat, but also challenging. “We are proud of the milling wheat we produce and want to see more of it used.”
His 450 hectare farm near Ashburton grows 13 different types of crops in any year, as well as farming livestock. About a quarter of his cropping area is in cereals, mainly milling wheat, but he also grows clover and ryegrass seed for pasture, as well as specialised seeds including evening primrose and red beet.
Phil Jackson, group general manager of Farmers Mill in Timaru, which has just been purchased by flourmill company Mauri, says it only processes South Island-grown wheat. “The biggest challenge is freight and getting product from the South Island to the North Island.
“The Grain Mark is significant as it is an opportunity for us to get people to be aware of what we do in New Zealand.”
Managing director of large-scale catering group Compass, Paul Harvey, told the launch that a growing desire to source product from within New Zealand meant it is now including this in its tender documents.
As Compass produces 170,000 meals a day for schools, hospitals, the defence force and businesses, quality and consistency of ingredients is key. It sources $20 to $25 million of grain-based product a year.
“The quality of grains in the South Island is phenomenal and if we can tell that story, I am in no doubt the volumes and benefits will come.
“Regulatory change isn’t going to happen so we need to take on this ourselves,” Paul Harvey says.
Andrew Fearnside, owner of Wild Wheat, an Auckland bakery producing artisan, specialty breads, says he is proud to be one of the first to sign up and use the New Zealand-Grown Grains logo. He sources 12 tonne of New Zealand-grown wheat a week for his six stores as well as other businesses, including supplying My Food Bag.
“The provenance of our flour is a good story and we are a shop window for the growers,” he says.