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2016

Developing New Zealand’s primary industries social capital.

Executive summary

This report and associated research asks the question:

‘How could NZ Inc use Social Media to support the Primary Industries?’

Social Media can no longer be ignored as a tool for your brand strategy. In a recent Dominion Post article, (Ranekleiv 2015) said ‘Online retailers are seeing rapid increases in the number of competitors. To remain competitive, they’re being forced to expand their offerings of products and services. Marketers need to engage with online customers and integrate the brand’s social media platforms into the overall experience. Consumers shopping online will also be referencing the brand in either positive or negative ways on social media. Brand owners can use social media to be part of those conversations to build their brands, and important tools are evolving to support this process’ (Winter C, 2015.)

The three areas of research completed for this paper support Ranekleiv’s statement. These research methods are:

  1. A literature review, used to establish the uptake and value of social media nationally and globally;
  2. An online survey promoted across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn targeted at rural social media users to understand their use of different platforms
  3. Case Study interviews, which were held face-to-face, via phone and email to understand how they use Social Media as part of their strategy.

A key finding highlighted that the sector lacked resource; capability and knowledge of social media so generally hadn’t invested time or money into developing a Social Media strategy. This has meant a slow uptake in the use of the tool, so organisations are missing the opportunity to engage online influencers with their brand.

By having our industry’s brands on Social Media, we can collectively tell our NZ Inc story. We do a poor job of promoting ‘our brand’ currently and my recommendations look to influence change:

– Develop a national social media seminar series to educate Primary Industry organisations on Social Media

– Form a ‘collective’ to tell our NZ Inc story through industry collaboration

– Build on existing campaigns such as #AgChatNZ and #NZFarmerday

When used well, Social Media can drive business, build brand awareness and allows communication to be had at a deeper level with customers. By ignoring the opportunities this tool presents, businesses are missing the chance to influence a growing online audience. Online consumers demand transparency and it’s important for long-term growth that businesses build a social media strategy into their broader brand strategy to position them for this growth.

Chelsea Millar, Miller

Level 3 graduate outcomes vs employer expectations.

Executive summary

With almost one in six jobs in New Zealand and over 70% of product exports dependent on the Primary Industries, there is an unequivocal need for skilled employees to make this happen.

Some indications from the farming sector are that concerns over skills and recruitment of skilled employees is decreasing although remaining in the top 10 concerns. Anecdotally this is still a big concern.

The number of farmers who took part in the survey is not sufficient to provide reliable quantitative data. It is aimed at providing insight into whether the graduates of the Level 3 programme achieved the aptitude and attitude as expected by employers and work experienced farmers.

There were some mixed views of what should be expected of a graduate. This was generally understood that basic skills were required. Some mentioning the additional learning that would take place in their first year of employment or level 4 study.

Even in areas where employers were asking about specific skills they would often mentioned attitude, trust, initiative. Additionally, many listed skills such as ability to listen, have to be able to trust them and adjust when things don’t do to plan. One stated that “trust, respect and work ethic are more important than knowledge”.

The results from this survey highlights the need to undertake further research with increased farmer engagement. This will enable a better understanding of farmer expectations for the quantitative (skills) versus qualitative (attitude) graduate outcomes. This in turn can provide better linkage between training providers and farmers ensuring future graduate outcomes are relevant and fit for purpose.

Paul Crick

An opportunity to grow peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) commercially in Northland.

Executive summary

The Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), also commonly called ground nut is a summer growing legume that has been identified as a potential cash crop for Northland Farmers.

Peanuts have been grown in New Zealand in the 1980’s but the enormous labour needs at harvest have prevented large scale production. With the availability of modern machinery large scale peanut production is now achievable. The Far North District Council and Northland INC have identified the Mid North as a possible site for a peanut processing factory. This study looks at peanut production from a world perspective right through to the opportunities for New Zealand and Northland farmers.

The data from this study shows that a peanut industry could be a viable option for Northland farmers through growing and marketing a premium product that would attract a premium price.

Reuben Carter

Understanding the perspective of New Zealand sheep and beef farmers: Effects on the market orientation and farm performance in the red meat industry

Executive summary

With debate surrounding the structure and strategy of the New Zealand red meat industry, the time is right to explore constructs around the market orientation and performance of New Zealand sheep and beef farmers. Market orientation was determined by studying customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination. These factors were considered alongside cooperative membership, level of education attained and ownership of sheep through the marketing channel.

Results indicate that there are some very moderate differences between cooperative and non-cooperative members, though there was no statistical difference between various levels of education attained and ownership of sheep through the marketing channel using principal components analysis, MANOVA and discriminant function analysis.

Redundancy analysis was used to analyse the variability in market orientation in relation to ten variables being price, production, quality, relationships, planning, innovation, learning entrepreneurship, trust and commitment. Planning, performance and relationships were the most powerful variables. The theoretical framework and model was applied to a usable sample of 131 sheep and beef farmers from all regions of New Zealand and is a study which is a preliminary step to gain insights for more in-depth empirical research in the near future.

Ange McFetridge, MacFetridge