The announcement follows farmer criticism of low meat returns and a lack of progress in any efforts to co-ordinate or restructure the industry.
The last attempt about two years ago to develop a strategy was abandoned when merger negotiations between the top five companies and then the two big co-operatives fizzled.
Federated Farmers' meat and fibre chair, Bruce Wills, thinks there may be a bit more willingness this time round, and says they need to learn from the dairy industry and combine forces, rather than in ripping into one another.
"There's a hell of a lot hinging on the meat industry strategy for New Zealand's meat farmers," says Wills.
"The really important thing is that farmers and the marketers are both seeing the highest ever in-market prices for Kiwi lamb, but they're not benefiting from those prices.
"The meat companies tell me they could sell double the lambs we currently produce and at these record prices too, but that's where a massive disconnect between ‘there' and ‘here' kicks in.
"Farmers and the meat companies both need one another, especially as Beef+Lamb NZ has revised down its forecast for the current season's crop of lambs to 21.5 million. That's a massive two million lambs less than the forecast released last December.
Beef + Lamb's chair, Mike Petersen, hopes the strategy project will break the stalemate that he says exists between farmers and meat companies.
Phase one of a two-stage strategy process entails an ‘umbrella’ study of the issues and opportunities across the sector from market to farm. Petersen and MIA Chairman Bill Falconer are optimistic that there will be a number of ‘quick-wins’ identified from that Phase one process. Phase one is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2011.
In Phase two, willing industry participants will collaborate to adopt and implement initiatives to drive change. These may include research and innovation, market development or whole of supply-chain initiatives.
Falconer stresses the project will focus on identifying opportunities across the value chain from market to farm, not on proposing new commercial structures.