| 13 • from page 12 RURAL PEOPLE »Ben Anderson - Puketotara Farm have not served the sector well toward creating shorter value chains that balance risk with monetary gain is key to ensuring the long-term health of the industry and in attracting newer, younger farmers into the fold. We know this can be done because other parts of the sector are already doing it. Ben also says that equally important is environmental gain and says opportunities to gain product premium by enhancing the environment are already occurring in other agricultural sectors. “It’s possible to get gain both financially and environmentally. Look at what Lake Hawea Station has achieved, in returning a 40% premium on its fine wool through its carbon zero certification. That’s a really smart strategy and a good example of what can be done by leveraging environmental attributes via an alternate value chain. They have differentiated their product in a way that is valued by their end consumer and are being rewarded because of it.” Ben hopes his research outcomes will create meaningful conversation within the deer sector organisations. “It’s about recognising the situation we’re in, and finding strategies that create pathways forward to achieve greater good for the whole sector, beginning with the farmer on the land.” He is looking forward to heading overseas soon to discover what innovations other countries are embracing. Ben’s research on the New Zealand Deer sector is espoused in his Paper, ‘The Green and the Black of It: Economic and Environmental Sustainability in the NZ Deer Industry and the Case for Change’
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