How are this year's candidates for upcoming co-operative elections for farmer-elected directors on the Alliance and Silver Fern Farm boards going to push the Meat Industry Excellence (MIE) view on the boards?
That was the question put to the candidates by members of the Tokanui community at a meeting held at the town's tavern last week.
Meat Industry Excellence was endorsing candidates Russell Drummond and Mandy Bell for the Alliance Group and Fiona Hancox for Silver Fern Farms. This is following on from last year's success of Don Morrison being elected on to the board of Alliance Group, and Richard Young and Dan Jex-Blake to the board of Silver Fern Farms.
But the questions sheep and beef farmers at the meeting wanted answered were ''why nothing had changed after last year's elections'' and ''why would this year be any different?''Dr Bell, who farms in Wanaka, said the key was force in numbers and last year's elected farmer-directors could not change everything on their own.
If the present candidates were elected on to their chosen boards, the board would have to listen to their views because there would be even numbers.
All three candidates agreed the red meat sector was in trouble and they needed to do something about it.
MIE member Ross Hyland said farmers needed to look beyond the farm gate.
''How do we untangle this bowl of spaghetti? It is incredibly complex and incredibly tricky.''
Mr Hyland said Lincoln University had completed a study to help ''untangle the spaghetti'' and they were hoping to get the report out to farmers in the new year.
MIE chairman John McCarthy told farmers to take a bow for operating the way they had with the red meat sector for so long.
''Take a bow, but we cannot continue like this.
''We are subsidising an inefficient system beyond the farm gate.
''We [MIE] have lived and breathed reform the last two years.''
He said all farmers knew there was a problem, but he pushed for farmers to vote at the co-op elections, as they could not stand back and watch the industry fail any longer.