OSU & SDSU 2015 New Zealand Ag Travel: Day 7

After being dropped off by host families, we took off for Wellington, the capitol city of New Zealand. The first place we visited in Wellington was Beef + Lamb New Zealand. We met up with Andrew, Rob, and Rob and they talked about the beef and sheep industry in New Zealand. Beef + Lamb New Zealand is an institution that uses levies (checkoff dollars) to make a confident and profitable beef and sheep industry. They help farmers make informed business decisions and promote their collective interests. They get about $4 a head for beef and less than $1 per head of sheep, both collected at slaughter. The group talked about the global market and stressed that they were an open market, so their prices were based on international markets. They also have created benchmarketing tools like a lambing percentage calculator and a whole farm business analysis. They also survey around 550 farms per year, which is 4.3% of commercial beef and sheep farms. They use the data collected to forecast farm revenue, expenditure, and profits.

Afterwards we had lunch in downtown Wellington. People ate a places like Burger King, McDonalds, and the Verve (which was a local café with sandwiches, pizzas, and pastas).

Then we went to the Ministry of Primary Industries, which is the equivalent to our USDA. On the walk to the MPI building, we got a chance to see the Beehive which is their capitol building. At MPI, we met with Mark who was a trade analyst. Mark explained the wide range of duties that MPI has such as animal welfare, biosecurity, food safety, and research. One of the most important practices the MPI does is biosecurity. New Zealand is an island nation, so if any harmful insects, plants, or diseases were brought into the country, it could devastate the economy. They have dogs that sniff luggage coming into the country to make sure nothing harmful gets in as well as border patrol agents.

Bee Hive (Parliament Building)

Both Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the MPI talked about trade. New Zealand exports a lot of what the country produces, as the population is small and they can’t consume all that is produced. Overall, they export about 90% of production. The United States, Eastern Asia, and Europe are some of the country’s biggest trading partners. Products that New Zealand exports include dairy, beef, lamb, wool, venison, pip fruits, and wine.

Following the MPI visit we traveled to Mount Victoria to look at Wellington from an awesome vantage point. We were able to see some awesome views of the harbor and ocean. We even saw a ferry headed to the South Island! We ended the day fairly early so we could pack up all of the items we’ve bought over the past 6 days so we can fly to Christchurch tomorrow!