He said action was needed to rebuild confidence among sheep and beef farmers, and he was concerned Alliance was not interested in a merger of the two meat co-operatives, when immediate action was needed.
‘‘We can't go through another season like the one we've had,'' he said in an interview.
Mr Norgate said meat industry rationalisation and changes to the way farmers supply stock could add more than $20 to the price of a lamb; a more optimistic forecast than the $15 a lamb Alliance Group chairman Owen Poole has said is possible from a meat merger to consolidate 80% of the nation's red meat processing and exporting.
He was urging action to ensure the global commodity boom was not over before the meat industry was in a position to benefit, but he also said it was unrealistic to expect a meat mega-company to be operative by next season. Hurdles were such, it would take plenty of work to be ready for the 2009-10 season, he said.
PGG Wrightson has sent an open letter to clients airing the company's concerns about the meat industry and the fact sheep and beef farmers are facing one of their least profitable years for 50 years.
It asked for comment and feedback from farmers on how to reverse the sector's fortunes.
PGG Wrightson said it supported meat-industry consolidation as a way of reducing excess processing capacity, saying rationalisation had benefited the rural servicing sector.
Funding surplus processing capacity was a drain on lamb prices, but the company told farmers consolidation was only part of the solution, and that they had some of the answers.
‘‘Nevertheless, and this is no criticism of proposals already on the table, it is clear that consolidation is only part of the solution. We believe that change must be made throughout the supply chain, from the pasture to the plate, if it is to provide the uplift in profitability that sheep and beef farmers need,'' the letter said.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times, Mr Norgate said that change involved horizontal integration, farmers supplying animals the market wanted when the market wanted them, and farmers having a business where they could focus on growing grass and animals as dairy farmers did, rather than what the market would pay.
‘‘Whilst various figures have been speculated upon, we are convinced there is value in excess of $20 per lamb currently lost to producers through inefficiencies and the failure to capture opportunities,'' he said.
The letter listed the contact details of directors and senior management, and Mr Norgate said five days after it was sent, he had had more than 100 phone calls from farmers expressing their concern and agreeing with the need for change.
There was also widespread agreement with the Alliance Group concept, but Mr Norgate said farmers were desperate and would grab anything that offered hope.
