Newsletter No. 49 – April 2007

1. Developing countries are developing a taste for beef (article)
2. Meat Quality
3. Grain Prices Rising
4. South Africa – missed opportunities
5. Coping with Water Scarcity
6. Meat Consumption Comparisons by Region

1. Developing countries are developing a taste for beef
The following short article appeared in the meatingplace.com daily newsletter on 3/13/2007.   John Gregerson of Meatingplace.com wrote the article.  

Quote:  A study by the Brazilian Beef Industry and Exporters Association suggests that developing countries are primed to become the primary consumers of beef in years to come.

The study estimates that by 2030, developing nations will consume about 350 million tons of the product annually, as compared to the 100 million tons that developed countries will.

Among the big buyers: Arab countries.   End Quote

This reinforces the opportunities for Ostrich given their environmental benefits as an efficient producer of red meat, when reared correctly.

Newsletter No. 40, http://www.world-ostrich.org./member/news40.htm, discussed market potential and current meat consumption in the different regions.  The newsletter highlighted the increased opportunities for Ostrich as an alternative efficient meat producer to Pork, amongst population groups unable to eat Pork.  A copy of Figure 2 from that newsletter is at the end of this newsletter and supports the findings of the Brazilian Beef Industry study.

There are many opportunities for Ostrich.  To achieve these opportunities in each region requires a large company, with good leadership, adequate resources and an understanding of how to apply “production agriculture” to ostrich production.

2.  Meat Quality
The WOA have published a document, “Factors Influencing Meat Quality”.  The document covers 10 sections that indicate how many things influence the quality of meat.  The influences are the same for any meat production specie and cover many factors throughout the production chain.  The following graphic comes from the book “Garth Pig Stockmanship Standards” and illustrates well just how many production factors influence meat quality.    

Nutrition, in excess of 60% of the input costs of any commercial livestock production, is at the very top as it has the greatest influence.  Many of the factors referenced are dependent on the correct nutrition.  A breakdown in any one of those factors influences the quality of the meat as received by the consumer.    

A visitor recently published this message to the American Ostrich Association public forum on their web site.  The message illustrates again the importance of consistent quality, especially when introducing a totally new meat specie to the marketplace.

Quote: I recently purchased several cuts of ostrich. I am writing an article on ostrich and would feel bad if I didn't at least try to put a positive spin on it. But I cooked the filet to medium as I read was necessary for ostrich and I couldn't take how tough it was. The roast was almost inedible. I tried again by pressure cooking it like I do with tough beef cuts. It just broke down into smaller tough pieces. I haven't touched the ground ostrich. What am I doing wrong? Any cooking suggestions or recipes would be appreciated. Thank you. End quote

One factor missing from the above graphic is ‘age at slaughter’.  It is very possible that this lady purchased meat from an old breeder bird.  There are many reasons why meat can be tough. 

The WOA has produced a Carcass Grading System that requires understanding and utilisation for all actively involved in our industry.  Grading a product differentiates quality and enables the setting of prices according to quality.  Grading also enables our customers to identify the level of quality they are purchasing.   

3.  Grain Prices
Well reported are the increasing concerns over the price of grains as the production of biofuels gains in momentum.  This is a problem for all livestock production and again places ostrich in a strong position.  There are two reasons why this is so:

Feed Efficiency
The mainstream livestock species are at the top end of their production efficiency cycle after many years of improved production systems and genetic improvements to increase feed and production efficiency.  Ostrich have yet to start commercial levels of production utilising efficient production methods and optimising the current genetic potential.  Applying the principles of “Productive Agriculture” to ostrich production, the room for improvements in ostrich production are very significant and illustrated in the Benchmark Target Figures (see http://www.world-ostrich.org/targets.htm ). 

Alfalfa (Lucerne)
Meat production from pigs and poultry comes primarily from grain diets.  Around 40% of a productive ostrich ration is Quality Alfalfa, thus enabling efficient meat production with reduced input from Grains.  In addition, Alfalfa has environmental benefits as an important element in crop rotations, as it fixes nitrogen in the soil for the benefit of grain crops following.

4.  South Africa – missed opportunities
Reports are coming from South Africa that more producers are leaving the Industry.  The extended closure of their export markets during the AI outbreak put their industry under pressure and now the escalating grain prices have increased that pressure.  These increases in grain prices has been made worse by a Rand that has depreciated against the US Dollar by more than 20% and more than 30% against Sterling and the Euro.

Had the South African ostrich producers adopted the principles of “Production Agriculture”, as discussed in Newsletter No. 48, immediately following deregulation in 1993, they could now be extremely efficient.  The South African producers would now be able to produce meat more competitively than the other meat producing species within the country, combining the excellent feed efficiency of Ostrich with the reduced dependency on grains.  

5.  Coping with Water Scarcity
The main reason given for increased maize prices in South Africa is a shortage of water.  This is becoming increasingly serious as a world problem.  Australia is now recovering from a devastating 5 year drought.  The FAO made “Coping with Water Scarcity” the theme of this years “World Water Day” on the 22nd March 2007.  http://www.unwater.org/wwd07/flashindex.html

The FAO report that Agriculture is the number-one user of water worldwide, accounting for about 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawn from lakes, rivers and aquifers.  Since 1950, the area of the earth under irrigation has doubled and water withdrawal for agricultural, domestic and industrial purposes has tripled.  It takes 1,000-3,000 litres of water to produce just one kilo of rice and 13,000 to 15,000 litres to produce one kilo of grain-fed beef.

These statistics emphasise the need to ensure that the use of the water for agriculture is in the most productive manner possible.  This again emphasises the role Ostrich has to play as an efficient converter of feed to meat, when produced utilising the principles of “production agriculture”.

6.  Global Meat Consumption
Below is a graphic illustrating the comparative meat consumption in different regions and supports the findings of the Brazilian Beef industry discussed in item 1 above.

Data Source FAO. 
Countries within region as defined by FAO: