New grass-fed standard celebrated in Shanghai
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, along with nearly 100 of the Co-operative’s customers recently celebrated the launch of the New Zealand Dairy Grass-Fed Administrative Standard in China.
During the Fonterra event in Shanghai, the Prime Minister presented Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell with a certificate recognising the Co-op's New Zealand milk meets the requirements of the standard.
Hurrell says meeting the New Zealand Grass-Fed Standard will help the Co-op strengthen its competitive advantage in international markets.
“This is particularly important in markets such as China and other parts of Asia where Government assurance and standards are viewed with high levels of credibility.”
Launched by the Ministry for Primary Industries at Fieldays, the New Zealand Grass-Fed Standard requires that dairy animals have a diet comprised of at least 90% (fresh weight) on a 3-year rolling average of qualifying grass-fed feed types and are on pasture or forage crops for at least 8 hours per day, 340 days per year.
Fonterra’s data shows its farmers’ cows are on average 96% grass-fed and spend more than 350 days on pasture*, which is above the standard’s requirements.
The Co-op launched its grass-fed claim in 2016, and its customers have been using it since to promote New Zealand’s natural dairy advantage.
Meeting the New Zealand Grass-Fed Standard marks a significant milestone, solidifying Fonterra’s position in markets where suppliers cannot make such claims due to the nature of their farming systems.
This is particularly important in markets such as China and other parts of Asia where Government assurance and standards are viewed with high levels of credibility.
At the event, Hurrell thanked the Prime Minister, the New Zealand Government, Ministry of Primary Industries and those in the primary sector who had been involved in developing the New Zealand Grass-Fed Standard.
*Our Fonterra New Zealand cows spend on average 350 days grazing on pasture and have a diet which is 96% grass, calculated on an ‘as consumed’ basis and averaged over the previous three seasons data. Grass-fed means cows mainly grazing on grass and crops in paddocks where they roam. Visit fonterra.com/grass-fed for more information