Garth Gilliam of Champion Flour Milling is calling for more arable farmers to look to growing wheat and grain for human consumption rather than animal feed wheat. Photo / Supplied
Garth Gilliam of Champion Flour Milling is calling for more arable farmers to look to growing wheat and grain for human consumption rather than animal feed wheat. Photo / Supplied
Arable industry players are calling a multi-year supply contract to Countdown supermarkets involving New Zealand wheat and grain a "break-through".
Until this year the in-house bakeries of the more than 180 Countdowns across the country had been using a combination of pre-mixes produced here and imported from Australia.
But in a deal that Christchurch-based Champion Flour Milling Ltd Business Innovation Manager Garth Gillam says is the culmination of years of effort, the supermarkets' bakeries have switched entirely to pre-mixes made using locally-grown product for all in-store manufactured loaves, rolls, buns and scones.
After winning that slice of business from Australia mills with their strategic partner Goodman Fielder, Gillam said Champion was now exploring with Goodman Fielder the "very real potential" to sell the Kiwi-made pre-mixes to bakeries across the ditch.
"I've been working on this project for nigh-on five years, and there's been excellent support from the likes of [Federated Farmers Grains and United Wheat Growers chairperson] Brian Leadley, and a few of his team before that, to build up to this first stage."
Champion's parent company is the sixth biggest miller in the world and the contract with Countdown has boosted its total local milling grains volume substantially, increasing the 140,000 tonnes already grown in New Zealand to a possible 150,000 tonnes, with growth potential in the coming years.
"With supermarket chains, being price competitive is just a given. It was the grain quality and the innovation that we brought to the table that sealed it," Gillam said.
"The innovation is what we can put into those pre-mixes that makes it simple for the bakers and delivers what the consumers like. We've just developed in the last month, on top of this NZ grains concept, a low GI break mix and it's going gang busters as well."
Gillam said he couldn't over-emphasise the importance of "the collaboration between us and the agronomists, and the growing fraternity breeding the cultivars for the future. Those years of work we've done, such as the coloured grains project, the rye corns – it's all part of the offering we put in those pre-mixes".
Brian Leadley of Federated Farmers Arable and the United Wheat Growers. Photo / Supplied
Brian Leadley said he was delighted. "This is a break-through, a real positive, winning back market share than had been filled by imported grain and flour."
The Federated Farmers Arable Industry executive member says Champion and Countdown deserve kudos.
Pre-deregulation in 1987, New Zealand was self-sufficient in flour and grain, now as much as 70 per cent is imported.
"If it's grown here, transported here, milled here, goes to domestic bakers to wind up as a staple food – well, that's a good story for employment and for New Zealand," Leadley said.
"While we're a wee way off standardising views on Country of Origin Labelling here, I think it is true that not a lot of the population know so much of the grain and flour used in goods here is imported."
The 2018 NZ Arable Farmer of the Year, Syd Worsfold, echoed the sentiment.
"We grow good stuff here, we have a robust quality assurance programme. I've always been a great fan of origin labelling. We probably couldn't produce enough wheat and grain for the entire country but the more we can do, and the more consumer recognition of that, the better."
Garth Gillam said the NZ-made pre-mixes were "the equal or better than any offered in Australia. We've had really good feedback on our products over there."
"It's not about getting the cheapest grain; I know we've got to be competitive. But we need quality and continuous supply or there's a risk all the good work we've done could be ruined."
Through AIMI and other channels Gillam is putting out the call for growers to take a long-term view when making their planting and contract supply decisions. He said it grated a bit with him that the hectares being devoted to feed wheat dominated.
"Growers here are very astute, and they're autonomous as well. They all have their own views.
"Brian, myself and others have been signally these opportunities for a while now. We're really keen for growers to understand the long-term opportunities. I know growers will think 'oh, I've heard this story before' but now we have the evidence. It's in the supermarkets - you couldn't get it more visual if you tried."
