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CHEF-READY FOOD SERVICE
Ovation lamb comes from four unique regions of New Zealand. Each area is made up of different soil structures, climate, sunlight and grass types resulting in subtle yet different flavour profiles. Our lamb is produced to suit multiple cuisine options. Whatever way you prepare it, the tenderness and natural 100% grass-fed flavour will be uncompromised.
king country king country
east cape east cape
central plains central plains
hawke's bay hawke's bay

OUR FARMS

Description

The western upland region of the North Island is wild and unspoiled farming and conservation land. Rugged and sparsely settled, this is New Zealand’s rural heartland. A staunch Maori stronghold until the 1880s, farmers settled in the King Country in the 1890s. Economy, soil and stock health struggles slowed the industry over the years but nothing kept the region down for long. Home to rugby, sheep shearing and farming, the King Country is rural royalty.

Geography

  • Steep rolling hill country and valleys. Sparsely settled with no large cities or towns.
  • Contains the Tongariro National park made up of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro mountains.

Geology

Limestone karst landscape with sinkholes and underground caves including the world-renowned Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Climate

Moderate temperatures. High rainfall.

Points of note

In the 1880s land in the area was surveyed for the main trunk railway line, opening the region up to European settlement.

Lifestyle

Real, down to earth farming country.

Featured Farms

Description

This is rugged, untouched land of extreme beauty, remote charm and fresh flavours. The city of Gisborne is the first city to see the sun every new day and that sun shines in abundance throughout the year. A striking coastline is lined with pristine beaches and rocky outcrops. Inland, native bush creeps up to cover rolling hills and mountain ranges. Sunshine, sea air and water combine with fertile soils to grow some of the best produce in the land.

Geography

Rough rolling hill country and forests, with long coastline of beaches and coves.

Geology

Mixture of fertile clay loam and some alluvial soils.

Climate

Long, hot summers, high sunshine hours and cool afternoon sea breezes.

Points of note

  • Captain James Cook named the place he first landed Poverty Bay, but ironically, the East Coast is one of the most fertile and abundant regions in New Zealand.
  • Renowned for vineyards, citrus orchards and stone fruit.

Lifestyle

Slow paced, relaxing life.

Featured Farms

Description

Home to New Zealand’s pastoral pioneers, the Central Plains region is perhaps the birthplace of Kiwi lamb. In the early 1840s, 1,600 sheep were shipped from Australia to Wellington and hundreds of these were taken to the Wairarapa. The southwest area of the North Island is rich farm country with very fertile land. Warm summers and mild winters make it a prosperous agricultural district. Life here is low-key and charming.

Geography

Rich farm country of low-lying land with two key rivers: the Manawatu and Rangitikei.

Geology

Fertile and varied soils.

Climate

Warm summers, mild winters.

Points of note

Numerous wind farms producing renewable energy.

Lifestyle

Rural charm, easy living. Home to outdoor activities and adventure tourism.

Featured Farms

Description

Hawke’s Bay life and income has long been based on the land. Sheep, beef and dairy farms, vineyards, orchards and gardens are central to this region’s economy. The area is a collection of rivers, valleys, plains and hills with the imposing Ruahine and Kaweka ranges bordering the west. It is a region of contrasts – mountains and plains, floods and droughts, frosts and heat. These extremes contribute to the intense flavours in Hawke’s Bay’s world-renowned wines, cuisine and produce.

Geography

A collection of rivers, valleys, plains and hills.

Geology

Range of soils: clay loam, limestone, sand, free-draining gravels and red metal.

Climate

A Mediterranean climate of long hot summers, mild winters and lower rainfall.

Points of note

Hawke’s Bay’s first flock of sheep (3,000 Merinos) arrived in 1849.

Lifestyle

A thriving and enticing area known for its wine and food, produce markets and outdoor living.

Featured Farms

king country

Paparata Farms

Seymour Spence

east cape

Mantle Hill

Frank & Hamish Briant

Pihitia Station

Toby Williams

central plains

Patuna

Alan Wilkinson

hawke’s bay

FORWARD TOGETHER

Nature, nurture, nourish – that’s our mantra. An eco-system of good. From the land, the farm, the animal, the nutrition, the health, the regeneration back – a full circle of life.

Quality starts with a quality team and it all starts with you – our loyal and valued farm suppliers. At Ovation, we count ourselves lucky to have great partnerships with the country’s finest lamb farmers. Your dedication, passion and integrity to your farm and animals flows right through Ovation, from farm to plate.

Working closely with you to ensure you can grow a constant, sustainable, nutritious food source that our global consumers want, whilst navigating and protecting you from the complexity of the ever-changing world and environmental dynamics is our mission. Our commitment to you never changes.

Together, we can achieve our goal of delivering the finest lamb, best nutrition and good health to the world.

We look forward to the new season together.

 

The Ovation Offer

  • We provide a market-linked supply programme with clearly defined carcass specifications that reflect our customers’ needs.
  • We aim to provide competitive schedule pricing and our schedule allows you to optimise returns through supply performance.
  • Our same day processing minimises animal stress and maximises yield, increasing your farm gate returns.
  • You are rewarded for supplying farm assured lambs.
  • We pay our suppliers a premium for supplying on time and to specification.
  • Both lamb and mutton can be booked and confirmed online through The Notebook.

 

Security of Payment

Ovation New Zealand Limited is managed in a prudent manner.

  • Working Capital funding is utilised during the season to primarily finance stocks and debtors. When this financing facility is utilised, stringent banking covenants including specific balance sheet ratios must be met.
  • All livestock is paid for within 14 days of slaughter and these covenants in turn provide a safeguard to suppliers with regard to all livestock payments.

REWARDING EXCELLENCE

We recognise and strive to reward excellence and loyalty.

Supplier of the Year

Supplier of the Year prizes are awarded separately at both our Feilding and Gisborne plants with all Producer Group commitments (over 250 lambs) being eligible to win.

  • Each season at each plant we celebrate our ‘Supplier of the Year’. All lambs booked and supplied into the Ovation Lamb Producer Group will be eligible for this prestigious prize.

 

Farm Assurance Standards

With food safety, animal welfare, product integrity and traceability becoming an ever increasing and essential component in remaining economically competitive, these factors are our number one business priority. All Ovation products adhere strictly to certified international food safety standards, which enable us to deliver a surprisingly long product shelf life when stored at recommended temperatures.

A Farm Assurance Premium is payable on all lambs supplied under the Ovation Farm Assurance Programme.

 

Ovation On-Farm Assurance Programme

The worldwide demand for greater food safety and quality assurances drives our Ovation On-Farm Assurance Programme. This programme precedes and complements the programmes and auditing process that are in place throughout our processing facilities.

The independent auditing company QCONZ (Quality Consultants New Zealand) carries out the on-farm auditing of the programme. A self-audit form is available for Ovation farmers to identify areas they may need to focus on prior to audits being undertaken.

For more details on QCONZ view their website qconz.co.nz

Ovation’s Farm Assurance Programme is accredited to JAS-ANZ ISO/IEC 17065 Standard and now adopts the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) as its base: nzfap.com

Enquiries about the Ovation scheme should be made to Hylton Bayliss at Hylton.Bayliss@ovation.co.nz

 

 

Producer Group Specification Premiums are payable for stock supplied within the premium weight range of 16.0 to 23.9kg carcase weight.

Monthly and Annual Supply Commitment Premiums are payable for lambs supplied in the appropriate period in accordance with confirmed bookings.

Stock Presentation Standards are payable on all lambs that meet our Grade 1 or Grade 2 presentation standard. These standards are focused and directly related to the cleanliness of stock and our ability to minimise bacterial loadings thus providing an extended product shelf life on chilled product.

  • Research and laboratory results demonstrate that lambs presented at slaughter with short wool and/or with a full belly crutch and with front socks shorn have significantly lower microbiological levels post-slaughter.

TRACEABILITY

ASD (Animal Status Declaration) Forms

An ASD is a legal and essential document that provides animal traceability and must accompany all livestock movements in New Zealand. The ASD is vital:

  • To transfer key animal welfare information about the stock.
  • For guiding ante-mortem and post-mortem examination at the processing premises.
  • Integral for determining export eligibility.
  • Underpins the Government’s ability to sign export certification.

A correctly completed ASD form must accompany all livestock being sent for slaughter. An example of a correctly completed form is included inside the front cover of our ASD booklets.

In addition, suppliers to the Ovation Lamb Producer Group need to ensure that they complete and send the yellow backing card that is included in the company ASD booklet. This card includes questions relating to the quality assurance status of the lambs being sent for slaughter.

  • Replacement ASD books are available through Notebook – our online booking system, your agent or from the slaughter plants.

introducing our online Partner booking system

THe NOTEBOOK

Navigating the week-to-week and year-to-year challenges of our industry, with better visibility, were key considerations when we sat down to design the new Notebook online booking system. Easy and intuitive to use, the Notebook has been upgraded to assist farmers and agents streamline booking and logistics functions.

  • View your commitment requests and confirmations for the whole season on the same page
  • Be in control of who gets to view your details such as killsheets
  • View and confirm bookings all on the same page
  • View, download and print all invoices such as killsheets, sales invoices, supply programme payments
  • Obtain vital kill data quicker
  • View and create dashboard reports on more kill data such as carcass weight, GR, all defects, payments
  • View your supply in the same week, for the previous 3 years, on the same page
  • View farm assurance data and request an update

 

 

Visit the Notebook Helpdesk www.notebooknz.zendesk.com/hc/en-nz if you need any assistance getting started with Notebook, or have any questions. You can access Notebook here https://notebook.net.nz

how to become an ovation farmer

Ovation is proud of our supply partnerships built up over many years with the country’s finest lamb farmers. Our business is about transparency and delivering a journey of integrity from the farmer right through to the final customer. Dedication and passion flows right throughout Ovation, from farm to plate.

Join the family

To find out more about becoming an Ovation supplier, please complete the below form