Can't meat companies agree on anything?

Many sheep and beef farmers have been able to agree their earnings are below what they need to stay on their farms for some time. Their calls for industry players to adopt a more cooperative approach seem to gone unheard. And if Silver Fern Farms' entreaty to its shareholders and those of rival Alliance for a bit of sitting down around the table goes the same way, who could blame them if they felt it was never going to happen?

Rivalries run deep but they did in the dairy industry before the formation of Fonterra. With a few hiccups along the way, that industry has transformed itself into something that all in New Zealand wish to emulate, not just those in the agricultural sector. And the small dairy players are quick to say that Fonterra's success has a very positive influence on them when it comes to product prices.

Craig Norgate, maybe the quintessential dairy industry personality, failed in his attempt to breathe some of the same spirit into the meat industry. It's unlikely there's anyone else from that quarter who will have a go now.

 The more fractured the meat industry is the less farmers can expect to receive for their stock despite their penchant for playing one company off against another. They should be firmly telling all the companies they supply the  status quo is simply not good enough.