SFF Project Summary

Achieve widespread adoption of sustainable high performance ostrich farming in NZ

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Final Report: Final Report
Website: www.ostrich-association.co.nz

The Objective of the New Zealand Ostrich Association Project:

This project aims to use focus farms and community group methods to identify the critical management systems necessary to achieve "best practise", and then provide NZ's ostrich farmers with access to that information through field days, newsletters, and the Association website.

What is the project going to do and how will it help to solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity?

Ostrich farming has the potential to become a profitable pastoral farming diversification, , producing a high quality, healthy meat product and sought after leather at a high level of feed efficiency compared with traditional livestock farming systems. For this to occur, existing and potential new entrants need to have the necessary management knowledge and skills.

Process overview

  • Engage Agriculture NZ consultant Colin Brown as consultant to the group.
  • Establish one "focus farm" which represent the main potential farming areas in NZ, and several Monitor Farms.
  • Establish "community groups" for each focus and monitor farm comprising existing farmers, potential new farmers (particularly leading deer farmers), and agribusiness people.
  • Set up monitoring and performance recording systems to identify appropriate benchmarks and KPIs, and the validity of different management methods
  • Undertake a survey of existing farmers, and analyse results, to establish present production parameters and management systems.
  • Run open days and field days to make the results freely available to other farmers.
  • Prepare management guideline packs, and establish a benchmarking service so that other farmers can adopt "best practice" systems and measure their farms performance and progress against the group.

Progress to Date: Focus Farms and Monitor Farms:

From a short list of fourteen potential farms inspected in the North and South Islands Barry and Sue Manson farm in Southbridge, Canterbury was selected. The Focus Farm is the "public face" of the Project. All farm information, including the financial budgets, details of production levels achieved; profit levels, problems and solutions etc will be available on the NZOA Website. In addition to the Focus Farm four Monitor Farms have been selected each with a different focus. There are three farms in Canterbury -one on adult breeder management, incubation and chick rearing, another on bird finishing systems and one just on chick rearing. Two farms in the North Island both focusing on breeding, incubation and chick rearing.. There purpose is to benchmark and compare different management systems, to identify key factors for success in a management system, and the benefits and disadvantages of different management systems for various aspects of ostrich farming.

Community Groups

Community Groups have been established in Canterbury, Manawatu, Bay of Plenty and Auckland to support the Monitor and Focus Farms. Group members consist of ostrich farmers and people interested in participating and learning how to farm ostrich successfully and can add value to the project. All members of the Community Group will be actively involved in helping make the Monitor Farms (or Focus Farm) more successful by facilitating the orderly collection and analysis of information.

Sector Groups

A number of Regional Sector groups have been established, coordinated by a national Convenor, who's role is to identify 'best practice' in the following areas : breeder nutrition and health, breeder management, transport, finishing systems, chick rearing, bird health incubation and hatching, weighing systems, processor and market requirements, international happenings. Computer programmes and web site maintenance. The information produces from these Sector Groups will provide the basis for the Ostrich Farming Guide to be produced by June 2001.

Other progress made

Articles on the programme have been included in the NZOA Newsletter OSTREPORT to ensure that NZOA Members are kept up to date with the Project progress. All NZOA Members were sent survey forms to complete. Agriculture New Zealand is analysing the survey information to identify benchmark performance information and prioritising issues for future focus