Sheep and beef farmers throughout the country are increasingly seeking New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) certification.

NZFAP is a voluntary nationwide programme that verifies best practice in animal raising and production at a standard recognised by international customers.

Originally established by the red meat sector and the Ministry for Primary Industries in 2017, NZFAP provides a single base farm assurance standard, replacing the ten or more different standards developed by individual meat companies that previously prevailed. It covers practices and issues relevant to the market including origin, traceability, biosecurity, animal welfare, the environment and sustainability and was extended to wool production in 2020, when PGG Wrightson and their wool export subsidiary Bloch & Behrens were among the first to join the NZFAP wool programme.

NZFAP certified wool is from sheep born and cared for under the five freedoms:

• Free from discomfort;
• Free from pain, injury and disease;
• Free to behave naturally;
• Free from fear and distress; and
• Free from thirst, hunger and malnutrition.

Certified farmers are required to have an animal health management plan and to meet New Zealand’s strict animal welfare regulations.

When sending wool into store, those wool growers who are already certified need to include their NZFAP registration number on their Wool Specification sheet. This will enable your wool to be marketed as NZFAP certified, providing assurances to manufacturers and brands that your wool meets some of the world’s highest, most rigorous, and independently audited farming practices.

For those wool growers not already certified, the video above explains the ease of the certification process, and the benefits of NZFAP to a farming business. To find out more, please visit https://www.nzfap.com/