Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's largest red meat exporter, increases red meat supply to U.S.

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May 13, 2020, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's largest red meat producer and exporter, announced that it is increasing supply availability to help meet the needs of U.S. consumers and customers.

The company currently exports grass-fed beef, lamb and venison to the U.S. annually from 14 processing plants throughout New Zealand.

A range of Silver Fern Farms products exported to the United States

Compared to being grain-fed, grass-fed meat is lower in saturated fat, and higher in vitamins A and E, conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids.

Silver Fern Farms are committed to creating quality products with integrity and ensuring animals live decent lives, as they are raised year-round on beautiful New Zealand pastures with access to clean air and plenty of water.

Classified as an essential service in New Zealand, Silver Fern Farms plants have been fully operational with additional safety measures implemented for production continuity. "We have maximized worker safety at all points of our operation, and strictly kept to guidelines and requirements outlined by government agencies during this difficult time," said Matt Luxton, Country Manager USA/North America for Silver Fern Farms.

New Zealand has minimized Covid-19 with no reported community transmission. New Zealand is the 4^th largest international supplier of meat to the U.S. food market.

"There have been many uplifting responses within the U.S. food processing industry to steady the national food supply," said Matt Luxton. "We commend the U.S, its processing plants, and its worker unions for acting to increase worker testing, improving access to protective equipment, and activating federal oversights to ensure the safety of all U.S. meatpacking plants"

"As we go through this challenging time together, Silver Fern Farms is committed to providing its best pasture-raised beef and venison for our customers throughout the United States."

In 2019 Silver Fern Farms entered the U.S. consumer market with branded 100% grass-fed beef, lamb, and venison packs distributed in supermarkets in the Tri-State region of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The company has been a committed red meat exporter to the U.S. for 30 years providing New Zealand-farmed products that are fresh or frozen, branded, or unbranded, covering several product ranges including premium ground beef, beef, lamb, and venison retail packs, prime steer beef steak cuts, and Cervena venison.

"Silver Fern Farms is working closely with our production and distribution partners to remove disruptions to our supply chain," said Luxton. "We're communicating with our production and distribution partners, customers and consumers to raise awareness of our product availability. We sincerely hope it makes a difference."

ABOUT SILVER FERN FARMS: Silver Fern Farms is New Zealand's largest grass-fed lamb, beef and venison producer, supplying the United States from the rolling pastures in New Zealand and striving to set the world standard in red meat. Starting as a small farm cooperative in 1948, produces 30% of all New Zealand lamb, beef and venison in partnership with 16,000 farmers, and exports to over 60 countries. The company was rated in the top 20 companies on the Colmar Brunton Corporate Reputation Index (NZ) 2019 for the second year.

For Retail and Business Contact:
Matt Luxton, Country Manager USA/North America
T: +64 3 474 6599 [email protected]

Media Contact: Reid Whelan
(T) +1 212-256-8155 (M) +1 610 955 9322
[email protected]

SOURCE Silver Fern Farms