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Thread ID: 87493	2008-02-23 20:25:00	New Zealand Meat	bk T (215)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
642986	2008-02-24 19:02:00	I don't know where the supermarkets source their meat; abbatoirs, I guess, so it's probably not that different to what's exported. I think the secret is using the right cut for the right purpose and in the cooking (as pctek has pointed out). An animal should be on a rising plane of nutrition before slaughter i.e. fed well. An interesting situation here, at the moment, we always have a few steers on hand, for home consumption etc. and they're handy for keeping rough corners tidy. This year with the dry weather we're experiencing we haven't got the quality of grass to get them to prime, and we're getting down on our meat (not that that worries my wife or me so much, as we're not big meat eaters anymore). Our farm manager's family are huge meat eaters and part of the deal is they get a beast for the freezer evey year. Well, I won't let them have a steer as I don't believe in slaughtering an animal before it's ready and they've offered to take a well conditioned in calf cull cow. Culls are not worth much at the moment, so said "be my guest, but I hope you know what you're doing". It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, but I have my doubts....	jcr1 (893)
642987	2008-02-24 20:34:00	I don't know where the supermarkets source their meat; abbatoirs, I guess, so it's probably not that different to what's exported. I think the secret is using the right cut for the right purpose and in the cooking (as pctek has pointed out). An animal should be on a rising plane of nutrition before slaughter i.e. fed well. An interesting situation here, at the moment, we always have a few steers on hand, for home consumption etc. and they're handy for keeping rough corners tidy. This year with the dry weather we're experiencing we haven't got the quality of grass to get them to prime, and we're getting down on our meat (not that that worries my wife or me so much, as we're not big meat eaters anymore). Our farm manager's family are huge meat eaters and part of the deal is they get a beast for the freezer evey year. Well, I won't let them have a steer as I don't believe in slaughtering an animal before it's ready and they've offered to take a well conditioned in calf cull cow. Culls are not worth much at the moment, so said "be my guest, but I hope you know what you're doing". It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, but I have my doubts.... I'm quite sure exported meats are different in quality than those sold locally. When I was in Singapore 2 years ago, we bought some NZ beef and they were just brilliant. We used to have very good meats years ago but definitely, not now. As confirmed by the butcher in Pak N Save, that we are having those OLD cows and pigs that cannot be exported. But I failed to understand the logic that the meat prices at home are higher than those exported! I remember quite well that the beef prices in Singapore was about 20% cheaper than our supermarket prices. Has anyone ever done any research on this issue? I never come across any reports by the media; or I missed out.	bk T (215)
642988	2008-02-24 23:53:00	I'm quite sure exported meats are different in quality than those sold locally. When I was in Singapore 2 years ago, we bought some NZ beef and they were just brilliant. We used to have very good meats years ago but definitely, not now. As confirmed by the butcher in Pak N Save, that we are having those OLD cows and pigs that cannot be exported. But I failed to understand the logic that the meat prices at home are higher than those exported! I remember quite well that the beef prices in Singapore was about 20% cheaper than our supermarket prices. Has anyone ever done any research on this issue? I never come across any reports by the media; or I missed out. You'd probably know better than me, as we just don't buy meat from the supermarket. I wonder what the Pak 'n Save butcher meant when he talked about old cows, as generally these are used for what's called manufacturing beef i.e. processed into mince, sausages etc as cuts from a cow that's been in milk are just too disgusting to tolerate. But as I said before a beast has to be on a rising plane of nutrition to be any good, and a steer at the sale might look prime, but if it's feeding level has dropped off, then the meat won't be so good. The amount of time a carcass is left to hang is also a consideration, as would be stress on the animal before slaughter and also maybe how long it was left in a holding paddock. I find it pretty hard to believe that cull cows are slaughtered for what passes for the best cuts in a supermarket, but I could be corrected on that one. There's just too many factors come into it and in a way it's luck of the draw the quality you get.	jcr1 (893)
642989	2008-02-25 00:28:00	Let's see what our local Henry's Market has for lamb right now . . . Hmmmm . . . Looks like Australian lamb for this weeks' special ( . shoplocal . com/index . aspx?pagename=moreinfo&zipcode=92543-7976&storeid=1038463&dssid=bc1c9444-05e4-45eb-854c-45182c13facc&fsid=143c86d8-2142-4f60-863f-420ac2af5992&deptid=&uniqueid=13786670&circularid=12732" target="_blank">henrys . shoplocal . com) . . . now let me do the computations for the exchange rate and all . $6 . 19NZD for . 45 kg . Seems higher that normal . . but I will get some tomorrow (Monday) . Just remember that this is a specialized store catering to the upper crust yuppies and DINKS (dual-incomes; no kids) . . . kinda a health food and holistic medicine outlet too . Let's see if I can download a local supermarket's flyer . This is Von's ( . safeway . com/superstore/sixframeset . asp?mainurl=http://vons1 . inserts2online . com/storeReview . jsp?drpStoreID=2389" target="_blank">shop . safeway . com) . . . hopefully youse guys can see it OK . Here's another place we shop when we are in Arizona . ( . shoplocal . com/bashas/default . aspx?action=browsecategoryl2&storeid=2481631&CatTreeID=547529&L2CatID=547529&ref=%2fbashas%2fdefault . aspx%3faction%3dsearch%26s" target="_blank">bashas . shoplocal . com toreid%3d2481631%26searchtext%3dlamb%26go%3dGo) . . t he prices are a lot lower . . . . .	SurferJoe46 (51)
642990	2008-05-21 06:54:00	jcr1 - could you point me to (or provide) some additional background on this transaction? I have been actively working on NZ's dairy economics issues, and this is a fascinating urban legend . Purportedly, the initial offer from the FSR was a diesel submarine . . . I have heard this tale from folks who were involved in the Dairy Board a couple decades ago, but have never seen any actual dates, citations, etc . As an economist, this is the ultimate "guns for butter" story . thanks in advance . . . That's almost right . Russia reneged on payments for dairy produce we sent them and an arrangement was made where we took Lada cars and Belarus tractors in part payment (I think we lost about $100m on that one) . For a few years we saw Dairy Board consultants scooting around in Ladas:lol:	quaffer (13434)
642991	2008-05-21 07:13:00	Quaffer, the deal is shrouded in my	jcr1 (893)
642992	2008-05-21 07:26:00	Whoops, something wrong here. I'll start again. The details are as much a mystery to me too, as they probably are to other average farming folk involved in the industry in those days. It is true, though, that we did get Ladas & Belarus's as payment and we did miss out on $100m (which in today's terms would be huge). I do know an ex Kiwi Dairies chairman & on occasions I run into him. Next time I see him (or any other ex-director), I'll ask about this, as I'm curious now myself, and I'll post on this thread. Just out of curiosity, Quaffer, can you tell me, in what respect are you involved in NZ Dairy's economic issues?	jcr1 (893)
642993	2008-05-21 07:40:00	Urine. Thats five.	Metla (12)
642994	2008-05-22 03:21:00	bk_T - if you're in East Auckland, try Meat Cuisine - they're in Tainui Road in Panmure, and I've never had a bad cut of meat from them yet. A little more expensive than the supermarket. But the meat is more than edible, so that makes up for the price differential. They have a website (http://www.meatcuisine.co.nz/) - and some really good specials occasionally...	johcar (6283)
642995	2008-05-22 05:02:00	I would never buy meat from Pak N Save. I get some from Countdown but mainly from Aussie Butcher. Choose a good butcher but to get one you may have to look around. If you want good fresh meat go out into a country town and ask a farmer, they can sell to you direct and have it processed for you. I used to have that down when I lived down south. You can get a good deal that way even if you split it with a friend.	Bantu (52)
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