New premium concepts from Danish Crown in 2022
In 2022, the unit holders in Danish Crown Beef will have the opportunity to submit the two new concepts Premium Kvier and Friland Naturpleje, which in addition to an extra supplement to the listing price contain a number of benefits - for both farm and herd.
,,As a cooperative slaughterhouse, it is our task to devise concepts that not only fit into the political agenda or align with the latest consumer trends. We must ensure that the concepts are flexible and can accommodate the unit holders, while we must not put unnecessary barriers in the way of their opportunities to run their business’', says Torben Nørremark, Head of Ownership Services at Danish Crown Beef.
As a unit holder, it must be possible to transition to the concepts through affordable changes or optimizations in the farm. We are not interested in the unit holders having to completely change production to meet concept requirements. That attitude also means that it goes well with attracting unit holders to the concepts - although we can always use even more, it sounds.
Danish rather than foreign
According to Torben Nørremark, the concept Premium Heifers solves the challenge with the increasing number of calves, which arises from 1 January. At the same time, the concept can take up the fight against the imported, red beef, which finds its way to the Danish refrigerated counters. According to the plan, the Premium Kvie concept will outcompete approx. 10 percent of the imported meat to create the space.
The concept, which is scheduled to start up in stores in August, is aimed in particular at milk producers with room for heifers in production; slaughter calf producers who want to broaden production and either have or know of empty barn facilities; and those producers who want to start a production exclusively with Premium Heifers. The animals must be between 18-30 months when handed in.
,,From 1 January, we will see a marked increase in the number of calves. There we address the root of the problem, because there is no room for all the extra slaughter animals in the Danish Calf concept. Instead, we have created a concept where we can help the unit holder with sparring about the optimal insemination strategy with beef cattle control, which breeds the best calves - either for use in own herd or resale. And that is also what we get the most praise for from the unit holders. That we make a concept that takes care of a very concrete challenge in production and at the same time is good business’’, says Torben Nørremark, who has a common sense in Jan Toft Nørgaard, chairman of Arla.
At the recent circuit meetings, he praised the Premium Kvie concept, which he believes creates value for both dairy and beef cattle producers.
When it comes to breeding work, Premium Heifers are tapping into the already ongoing Future Beef Cross project. The project is currently in the process of mapping how to find the right bulls through genomic selection, which can deliver a quality product that customers will buy again and again, while the producer achieves better production economy and feed efficiency.
,,As we get more data about the crossing work from Future Beef Cross, we will be able to select bulls that contribute to a better business. The expectation is that during 2022 or the beginning of 2023 we can make calculations on how you as a producer optimize significantly on production economy and feed efficiency in the herd - and the value of those calculations will only increase as we get more data in’’, says Torben Nørremark.
Sustainability in the forefront
With the concept Friland Naturpleje, Danish Crown and the unit holders take life with consumers' wishes for meat with attitudes.
,,Friland Naturpleje is for me to see the closest we come to a completely optimal beef cattle concept. We find it difficult to make beef cattle climate-neutral, so instead we look into other, sustainable elements around animal welfare with two hearts (the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's Heart Scheme) and an effort to protect biodiversity. The product is based on the retail trade and the customers' wishes, so we produce for consumers rather than for them - which ultimately ensures us a weighty 'license to produce', as we take animal welfare and biodiversity seriously’’, says Torben Nørremark.
The concept, which is scheduled to hit stores in the first half of 2022, is designed with respect for the farmer's reality. This means, among other things, that many producers - due to the requirements for time on grass - will be able to be included in the concept with few or no changes in, for example, stable conditions. At the same time, it is especially aimed at unit holders with areas that they already have animals to graze on.
,,Why not get DKK 4 more per kilos when you still have animals out to graze the areas. The difference is that - unlike today - you do not have to remove fallout branches and other things in the lip belts while leaving a piece of the field untouched for the benefit of the local flora and fauna. The concept is aimed at those producers who want to do something extra for the local nature - and the biodiversity in Denmark in general’’, he says.
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