Mr Boulton, of Alexandra, spoke at the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Auckland recently, sharing Silver Fern Farms’ vision for the future of red meat.
The way the New Zealand red meat sector presented itself in the market required a mindset that sought to invest in productivity, backed data over assumption and built long-term shared partnerships.
"If we get this right, the benefits are significant."
Geopolitical and food security pressures and supply chain uncertainty were reshaping trade flows and policy settings.
The trading norms New Zealand had been used to over the past few decades were being re-litigated in real time, Mr Boulton said.
At the same time, global protein supply was tightening and the demand for high-quality, sustainably produced food was rising.
"That is our tailwind and that is super exciting."
Climate pressure was changing how food was being produced across the globe.
Customers were seeking transparency, traceability and proof of how their food was produced.
New Zealand food producers could standout in this space, he said.
"We’re trusted, we’re stable and we produce high-quality food at scale that the discerning consumer and high-quality customers want."
He believed the higher farmgate prices for red meat would continue.
"What we’re seeing today is a structural shift in supply and demand dynamics that will remain in our favour for some time."
He warned that high-value customers were no longer buying food on price, volume and quality.
They now demanded greater transparency, provenance and consistency of supply.
The creation of deeper supply functions would create enduring values for New Zealand farmers. Alternatively, if the sector stayed in a transactional mode and kept optimising the short-term, value would be left behind, he said.
"If we then compete on price and value, we will be substitutable and not preferred."
He recently was invited to speak at a global leaders’ round-table discussion at Windsor Castle in London, alongside major global food companies, investors and industry leaders.
The discussion at the roundtable was about how to make sustainable food systems more resilient and more energy viable.
"Right now, our global customers are trying to solve this really critical challenge."
Global customers wanted more sustainable and deeper supply partnerships.
"They’re coming to us to embrace supply certainty."
Global customers were prepared to invest in provenance, environment, climate and nature.
New Zealand already had an advantage with its grass-fed, resilient, sustainable, nature-based farming systems.
"Proof around that has now increasingly become recognised by our customers that matter the most and it’s also what’s opened the doors to some of the most high-value customers globally."
Data needed to embraced as proof, rather than a burden, as it provided a competitive advantage and protected market and customer access.
Customers valued a resilient supply of protein.
"These companies can’t grow without reassuring their supply. The shift towards high resilience is strong."
The future was about partnerships and building long-term relationships with customers that valued what New Zealand farmers produced.
"We know New Zealand will not win by being the biggest, but will win by being the smartest, the most trusted and the most connected to our customers."
Productivity, efficiency gains and environmental outcomes could co-exist by embracing science, technology and being prepared to invest in the long term.
"When farm performance improves, confidence returns and investment follows — and when that happens, rural communities thrive."
