Rare Returns: the state of NZ’s red meat sector

Rare Returns looks at the state of the sector from paddock to processor. (Image: NZME)

Mon, 13 Oct 2025

New Zealand’s red meat sector is riding a wave of improved farmgate prices and renewed farmer confidence; however, structural challenges, including falling livestock numbers and processor inefficiencies, are forcing a reckoning. In this series, Riley Kennedy looks at the state of the sector from paddock to processor.Driving through Wairarapa on a clear spring day in mid-September, it’s easy to see why NZ’s red meat is held in such high regard overseas.Fresh grass, newborn lambs, and sunshine – the fundamentals of a farmi...

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