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WORLD OSTRICH ASSOCIATION Mission Statement "To Represent The International Ostrich Industry Through Communication, Dissemination of Information and Provision of Industry Standards" |
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Newsletter No. 53 – August 2007
1. The Greatest Threat to the Industry 2. Report of First International Ostrich Meat Congress 3. Marketing Starts on the Farm 4. Carbon Monoxide Meat Packaging 5. Eliminating Variability 6. Brazil Export Meat to Europe |
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1. The Greatest Threat to our Industry
A major buyer for Ostrich meat, who has always strived to obtain quality meat, made this statement to us:
“The greatest threat to our industry is the poor quality ostrich meat we continually see”
The buyer of a major supermarket chain informs us they are not interested in placing ostrich meat on their shelves again as a direct result of past negative experiences, proving just how true that statement is. Those negative experiences included consumer resistance and the refusal of the supplier to change their methods of production to meet the customer needs. The supplier implied that the skin is the primary product and they were unable to make those changes, as the changes would have a negative effect on the skins.
Item 2 is a report of the “First International Ostrich Meat Congress” that took place at the end of February 1997 in Oudtshoorn. The ostrich list was new and very active at the time. Prior to going to this conference, I asked members of the list for their thoughts on the slow development of the markets, as it was an excellent channel of communication within the industry.
I returned home from the congress excited as the issues list members had raised were discussed since they were clearly concerns of all those on the front line marketing and I hoped would continue to be addressed. 10 years on, the industry faces the same challenges. If anything, it is worse.
Item 2b discusses the dangers of bad consumer experiences. Hearing a major buyers complaining of the same thing 10 years later indicates that as an industry this serious threat remains a major issue that the industry continues to fail to address on a large enough scale.
2. Report of First International Ostrich Meat Congress – February, 1997 Published on the ostrich list on 3rd March 1997
Last week NOPSA - The National Ostrich Processors Association of South Africa (NOPSA) hosted The First International Ostrich Meat Congress in Oudtshoorn. There were 120 delegates from 21 countries. The week should be seen as a major event in the history of the Ostrich Industry. It was not a week of delegates simply sitting and listening to a number of papers presented by various speakers - but as an opportunity for those attending to contribute in general discussion.
Three major areas were covered - The Meat (the individual muscles, their names, grades by tenderness etc.), Marketing Strategy and Hides. The delegates were also given a tour of the Abattoir, Tannery and various farms in the area.
a. The Meat As a result of the confusion in the market as to the names and degree of tenderness of different muscles it was agreed that an internationally accepted standard should be set. An international subcommittee was formed. Before we departed, the Catalogue numbers of each muscle and Latin names had been agreed. The grading of several muscles and some trade names are still to be agreed. There is to be a further meeting of the sub committee to me held in Europe to finalise these matters.
Dr. F. Mellet of Stellenbosch University reported on the pH values of the meat and the Anatomy of the muscles. He noted that the Ostrich shows characteristics of Birds, Mammals and Reptiles.
The statement was made by one speaker that the industry is rapidly moving from the Hides as the primary product, with the meat the by-product to The Meat as the primary Product with the hides the by-product.
b. Marketing Strategy A good deal of time was attributed to this important subject. Some statistics were presented on current numbers of birds being slaughtered, number of approved export abattoirs, numbers of birds etc. However, it was noted that these were compiled with limited data. Statistics were also shown on the dramatic growth of the Turkey and Chicken Industries in relation to the total meat market. It was noted that it would take 15million slaughter birds to satisfy 15% of the European market alone. The conclusion there is plenty of room for every one and great potential for growth.
There was an excellent presentation covering what the housewife/consumer is looking for, what makes the consumer buy the product and how to create an International awareness. Great emphasis was also given to the fact that there will be many people over the next few years buying Ostrich for the first time. If the product is not good and that first experience is a bad one - that consumer may well never try the product again. It was noted that there has been an inconstancy in the product in the past, which must now be addressed. This inconsistency is most probably a combination of the variety of ages of slaughter birds, the effects of diet, variety in classification between countries of the various muscles etc.
The price, presentation and colour of the meat were also aspects mentioned. The health aspects were seen as a major priority - the speaker highlighted the fact that we have a free range meat, that the market wants animals reared on feed free of meat source proteins, routine antibiotics, growth hormones etc.
An International Ostrich Association will be formed to promote the industry. It will prepare the International Meat Buyers Guide along with other sales literature, videos etc. It will generate and sustain general public awareness campaigns. The funding will be a combination of levies, profit from sale of promotional materials and any other means that may seem appropriate from time to time. Some of the funding will go towards research and development. The levies will be collected by the National Associations - part to be handed across to the International Association with some retained by the National Associations to promote within their individual country as each country has its own unique culture.
Delegates were warned that any bad press or experience regarding Ostrich will reflect on the industry - the consumer does not think of where that Ostrich was - simply the name Ostrich. It is essential to work together to ensure the quality and consistency of standards.
c. Ostrich Leather Whilst this was primarily an Ostrich Meat Congress, this important product was certainly not ignored. The current grading of Ostrich skins was covered in detail. Mr. Kriek of the KKLK informed the delegates that the industry often complains that the grading is too kind to the producer - but it has been agreed to retain the standard for the next 2 years at least. It was acknowledged that there are a number of new producers now in the market and there will be a learning curve to achieve the required quality.
Discussion took place on the effect of slaughter age on the hide. It was acknowledged that the 10mth skin of a well-fed bird is very acceptable and that the 14mth slaughter age has arisen to satisfy the requirements of the feather trade. There was considerable discussion on the potential effect on price of an increasing number hides and of lower grade skins possibly coming onto the market. Examples were given of uses of these hides, which no other leather could compete with, therefore allowing the hides to retain a high value. An analogy was made with the wine industry. You will have your very high value wines, the plonks and many in-between – all made from the one product - the Grape.
All delegates visited the Tannery and were shown a large range of skins - of differing grades. A good deal of excellent discussion took place between the delegates during this visit.
The Congress was closed by the South African Minister of Agriculture - Mr. D. Hanekom. He passed on the message to the South African Industry that he offered his full support to the development of the industry. He also announced that legislation is now going through to allow the Import and Export of genetic material.
Footnote: Note the fact that this was 1997 and it was accepted then that skins from 10 month birds (42 weeks old) are acceptable and that the feather industry was driving the later slaughter. Slaughter birds as late as 60 weeks is simply not commercially viable for a producer producing good quality meat.
3. Marketing Starts on the Farm At the time of this conference, my husband and I were involved in marketing the skins and hoped to build a meat supply business into the UK. One has to have supplies in order to build a marketing business. We started farming ostrich in a small way while awaiting establishment of slaughter facilities in our area (Cape Town, Western Cape ), so enabling increased supplies to become available. We had become aware of the rearing problems producers experienced, not only in South Africa but also in all countries rearing ostrich at that time. It required “hands on” experience to gain a better understanding because “Marketing starts on the Farm”.
To supply a market requires:
- A reliable supply of the product - A product of the right quality - Uniformity in quality - Uniformity of muscle sizes
Whilst handling of the birds in transport, during slaughter and the meat after slaughter all influence the quality of the meat, the quality starts on the farm. This applies equally to the skins, fat/oil and feathers.
Erratic egg laying, hatchability and chick survivability all influence the ability to ensure reliability of supply. They also significantly influence the costs of production.
Added to these issues today are full traceability, residues in the meat and animal welfare (how the animals are reared), all very important to buyers and consumers. Increasingly various quality assurance certification schemes enforced by buyers include these requirements.
These aspects all start on the farm and require addressing as critical to any marketing plan. Marketing livestock products is a partnership between producer, processor and buyer.
4. Carbon Monoxide Gas in Meat Packaging The Meatingplace.com web site published the following article on 19th July. Membership is required to read the full article, but it is free.
Safeway pulls product packaged in CO By John
Gregerson on 7/19/2007 for Meatingplace.com
Congress asked, and Safeway complied.
Footnote: The use of Carbon Monoxide Gas in meat packaging is in widespread use in the meat industry, but coming under increasing pressure on safety issues. The nutrition technology that most us know as “Vitamin E Beef” also produces meat that brightens with oxidation and provides a similar visual benefits and extended shelf life as the CO packaging technology and just one example of how “Marketing Starts on the Farm”.
A few references: Taken from the Alberta Government web site: Does vitamin E influence
meat quality? Will I be able to market
finished steers without supplemental vitamin E in the feeding program?
The following is the summary of the paper entitled: Effect of supplemental dietary vitamin E on the color and case-life of top loin steaks and ground chuck patties in various case-ready retail packaging systems. This research shows that vitamin E supplementation has significant effects in reducing the oxidative processes that create undesirable characteristics in case-ready beef. Vitamin E supplementation was shown to maintain color and visual acceptance scores for longer periods of display in both Peelable VSP packaged top loin steaks and Barrier Foam packaged ground chuck patties. Extending the storage and display life of case-ready beef products, vitamin E has the potential to help beef compete better with other case-ready protein sources. The combination of case-ready packaging and vitamin E supplementation can help beef products become more appealing and convenient to today’s retail consumer.
5. Eliminating Variability The Pig Site recently published an article on the subject of tackling uniformity under the title Dealing With Variability in the Finishing Barn. The article illustrates other areas of marketing that start on the farm.
A few excerpts: Quote: Variation is becoming an increasingly important topic of discussion in the pork industry. Differences in growth impact the time that is required to empty a pen, or a room, or a barn and still meet the needs of the packing industry for uniform carcasses.
Pork producers look with envy at the broiler industry, which empties its barns in a single day, while we take 3 to 5 weeks to accomplish the same end. In the broader scheme of things, variability is both a curse and a blessing to our industry. That being the case, management of variability becomes an essential key to success in pork production. End quote
Quote: What is variability? First, what is meant by variability, and how much variability typically exists within a herd. Variability is defined statistically in many ways. One common term is “standard deviation.” Standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation that exists about the average of a group of pigs. It is defined such that one standard deviation about the mean will include about 66% of all pigs within that group; two standard deviations will include 95% of the pigs, and three standard deviations will encompass more than 99% of all of the pigs.
For example, if a pork producer recorded the weight of all of his pigs at 140 days of age (20 weeks), the average might be 95 kg and the standard deviation 11 kg. In this example, 2/3 of the pigs would weigh between 84 kg (95 – 11) and 106 kg (95 +11). More than 95% of the pigs would weigh between 73 kg (95 – 11- 11) and 117 kg (95 + 11+ 11). When one talks about reducing variability, one is really talking about reducing the standard deviation.
Sometimes, people prefer to use the term “coefficient of variation” or CV; it is the standard deviation expressed as a percent of the average. In the above example, the CV would be 11.6% ([11/95] x 100). In typical pig populations, the CV is commonly in the range of 8 to 12%.
Two fundamental approaches exist. The first would be to manage the environment in such a way as to minimize variability, and the second would be to manage the pig to minimize the impact of variability on net income. In other words, one approach would be to seek ways to minimize variability, and the second would be to manage whatever variability exists within a herd. End Quote
Uniformity in size of carcass is important and our ostrich industry must start to address this issue. Apart from supporting the marketing effort by supplying the customer with uniform carcasses, there are clearly significant financial benefits in achieving a finished animal of 117kg instead of 73kg over the same period and for the same feed intake.
6. Brazil Export Meat to Europe This month Brazil reported restricted export of Ostrich meat to Germany while they continue to put in place their residue control plan, programmed to take till the end of 2009 to complete. Residue control includes controlling and testing for such things as drugs, antibiotics and hormonal growth promoters.
Many ostrich projects commence with the intention of exporting. It is important to recognise the costs of developing and implementing the required controls demanded by importing countries.
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