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WelcomeWelcome to the latest edition of the DawnDirect newsletter. 2017 has been a veryexciting year so far for Dawn Meats, with ourvery own Isla Roebuck being elected asPresident of our trade body, the British MeatProcessors Association (BMPA), alongside uspromoting Scotch Beef from HighlandMeats in Canada, publishing our firstCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reportand entering into a strategic partnershipwith Dunbia announced at the end of May.

The strategic partnership with Dunbiaestablishes a majority owned joint venture['JV'] in the United Kingdom comprising theUK operations of both organisations and thedeal is subject to approval by the relevantcompetition authorities.

The combined UK business will deliverenhanced scale and market presence tobetter serve existing farmer suppliers andcustomers of both organisations across theretail, manufacturing, wholesale and foodservice sectors. The businesses are highlycomplementary, and will offer customersregionally sourced solutions for both beef andlamb from 15 facilities across Scotland,England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We are both family businesses with a deepconnection to farming and a culture and

business ethos that is centred on quality andsustainability. Given the uncertainty posed byBrexit, this partnership should furtherunderpin the competitiveness of bothoperations to the benefit of all stakeholders inthe UK and across Europe.

We are very excited about the future of bothcompanies and the opportunities that thistransaction will bring for our staff, customersand suppliers. In our key operating marketswe will be involved in 3 leading nationalbusinesses with Dawn Meats in Ireland,Dunbia in the UK and Elivia in France, with ourcooperative partners Terrena.

As an exciting few months unfolds for all of us,I want to thank you for your continuedsupport and wish you all well for the summermonths.

Niall Browne, CEO

Dawn Meats was delighted to accept the awardsfor ‘Best Beef Product’, ‘Best Red Meat Product’ and‘Young Manager of the Year’ at this year’s MeatManagement Industry Awards which took placeon Wednesday 28th June 2017 in Birmingham.

As one of the highlights of the meat industrycalendar, the annual Meat Management IndustryAwards sets a benchmark for recognisingexcellence throughout the meat industry.

Dawn Meats was awarded ‘Best Beef Product’ fortheir Extra Special slow cooked West CountryTeriyaki Beef Rib as supplied to Asda. The productwas also selected as overall winner of the ‘Best RedMeat Product’ which recognises the top productfrom the three category winners – Beef, Lamb andPork/Pigmeat.

Pictured above Gerard Kennedy, Site OperationsManager at Highland Meats, a division of DawnMeats (UK) was named ‘Young Manager of theYear’.

Helen Rees, Group HR, Dawn Meats said: “Ger is anexcellent example of the progression that may beachieved by graduates through the Dawn MeatsBrighter Futures programme. His rapid risethrough the company is testament to hishardworking and meticulous nature. Gerdemonstrates all the key skills and characteristicsrequired to succeed in this industry and is a realasset to the business”.

Triple Win at MeatManagementIndustry Awards

DawnDirectUK

Cross Hands AchievesISO 50001 CertificationDawn Meats has achieved ISO 50001certification for its development andimplementation of an efficient energy usepolicy in accordance with the highestinternational standards at its retail packingplant, Cross Hands in South Wales.

The International Organization forStandardization (ISO) provides world-classspecifications for products, services andsystems, to ensure quality, safety andefficiency, from technology, to food safety,to agriculture and healthcare. ISO 50001 isone of their most sought after standards.Dawn Cross Hands had previously beencertified to the ISO 14001 Standard.

Dawn Cross Hands is a large energy userwith an annual bill of close to £1 millionand refrigeration makes up a significantpercentage of the total energy used at thesite. With the development,implementation and integration of anenergy management system aimedspecifically at refrigeration consumption,the site has reduced its refrigerationconsumption by 6% delivering significantfinancial returns, and resulting in its ISO50001 certification.

Commenting Ken Hallahan, UK OperationsDirector, Dawn Meats said, "ISOcertification is recognized and respectedby farmer suppliers, retailer and foodservice customers, and the general publicas it provides reassurance and certaintythat an organisation is operating to aninternational standard. Dawn Meats viewseffective energy management as anessential strategic requirement of thebusiness, so it is fitting that Cross Handshas achieved this certification".

Pictured at this year’s SIAL Canada (l-r):Uel Morton, Chief Executive, QMS and Niall Browne,Chief Executive, Dawn Meats.

The use of antibiotics within thelivestock sector is a topic which has beengrowing in momentum over the last fewyears. The pig and poultry sectors are atthe forefront of this issue, not least asthey traditionally have the highest usesof antibiotics per kg of meat producedwithin their sectors, but also becausethey are leading a change in behaviourin farming practices. Whilst the current focusis not on the extensive beef and lambsectors that we are directly involved in, itdoesn’t mean we can ignore the issue.

The agricultural and food industry allianceRUMA, which promotes responsible use ofmedicines in farm animals, is working hard onthe subject within the Industry and hasestablished farmantibiotics.org as a means ofdisseminating accurate information,communicating research findings andproviding facts and figures on antibioticresistance; it also aims to highlight practicalstrategies and useful innovations and newthinking that could be replicated on farm. TheWorld Health Organisation (WHO) compiled alist of Critically Important (CI) antimicrobialsused in both human and animal medicine andthe main aim of the WHO and closer to homethe European Medicine Agency (EMA) is toreduce use of fluoroquinolones, 3rd and 4thgeneration cephalosporins, and colistin, andonly use these antibiotics where no otherproduct will be effective for the conditionbeing treated. The trade names of drugscontaining these antibiotics varies between

manufacturer but many drugs used to treatpneumonia for example will fall under theseheadings.

Whilst animal health and welfare must be thehighest priority when any treatmentdiscussions are had with your vet, it is worthasking what antibiotics are being used and ifthere are alternatives available that are notclassified as CI antibiotics.

Alongside this, whilst we want to reduce theusage of antibiotics, we should also look athow to prevent them being needed in thefirst place! Housing, ventilation, biosecurity,stocking densities and vaccinationprogrammes should all be looked at if youwant to reduce the need for antibiotic use.Antibiotics don’t just have a negative effect interms of human health, but they are asignificant cost to the farm business and a sickanimal never performs as well as a healthyone! Dawn Meats will be redoing the datacapture exercise we completed in 2016 toestablish a baseline for antibiotic usage withinour supply base, alongside other activities tohelp raise awareness of the issue, and try andreduce the use on our supplying farms.

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YDP SeniorConference

Dawn Meats was delighted to sponsorthis year’s Youth Development ProgrammeSenior Conference which took place inFebruary. The event which was organised bythe Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society’s YouthDevelopment Programme, saw 24 senior YDPparticipants travel to Northampton from allover the UK and Ireland for a weekend whichprovided them an opportunity to progresstheir skills, partaking in farm tours, seminarsas well as a plant visit to Dawn MeatsCardington site.

Over the weekend, there were numerousseminars presented from a diverse range ofexternal speakers which covered topicsincluding: Reproductive Management -Getting the Best from your Suckler Herd,What is Meat Quality, Knowing theConsumer, Newford Suckler DemonstrationFarm and Presentations Skills.

The weekend was a huge success and all 24participants engaged with the speakers andformed friendships and alliances for thefuture. Thanks to everyone involved. We lookforward to doing it all again next year.

McDonald’s UKSupply ChainPictured at a recent farm tour of PilmoorFarm in Bridlington for a behind thescenes experience of the McDonald’s UKSupply Chain.

left to right: Richard Marcroft, Local Franchisee,Mark Allan, Dawn Meats (UK), Dionne Parker,Head of Corporate Affairs, McDonald’s UK,Caroline Marson, Host Farmer, Natalie Plummer,Progressive Young Farmer, Andrew Marson,Host Farmer, Paul Pomroy, CEO, McDonald’s UK,Peter Garbutt, Agricultural Manager,McDonald’s UK.

In our quest to become Europe’s mostsustainable meat company we havepublished our ambitious 2025 targets,principally to reduce water and energyintensity by 40% and CO2 emissionsintensity by 50%.

Commenting on our initiatives on thepublication of our first CSR report, ourCEO Niall Browne said, “None of thiswould be possible without thecommitment of our staff. We have areally strong CSR committee atmanagement level, but the buy-inthroughout the organisation has been acredit to every member of the team.

Group Head of CSR David O’ Flynncommented: “At Dawn Meats we recognisethat doing the right thing will build a morerobust business for the future which will

benefit employees, customers and farmersalike. Our CSR strategy is aligned with theUN Sustainable Development Goals andOrigin Green principals and we are veryexcited about what we have committedto achieve”.

The full CSR report can be viewedonline: wwwdawnmeats.com

Our First CSR Report

Focus on AntibioticsBy Sarah Haire, Group Agriculture Manager, Dawn Meats

Caledonia CrownServes NFUScotland AnnualDinner

Dawn Meats was delighted to supportthe NFU Scotland’s Annual Dinner, whichtook place at the Radisson Blu Hotel,Glasgow as part of the Union’sConference and AGM in February.

Over 500 diners wereserved up a showcasemenu of some of the

very best food and drink thatScotland has to offer

including our veryown CaledoniaCrown PGIScotch Beefwhich featured asthe main courseon the menu.

Isla Roebuck,Operations Director of

Dawn Meats commented: “Itwas a privilege to supply this

year’s NFU annual dinner with ourCaledonia Crown PGI Scotch Beef and afantastic opportunity to showcase toguests the exceptional quality andreputation that our Caledonia Crown PGIScotch Beef consistently delivers.”

The Newford herd had a good spring with108 calves born to the 107 cows scanned incalf. Two cows lost calves prior to calving andone calf died after calving, but four sets oftwins helped keep a pleasing 1.04 calvesborn per cow calved, or 0.96 calves per cowsubmitted for breeding. The calving intervalhas also shortened to 349 days.

The breeding programme for 2017 is nearingits end now, with 92 cows served in the first 3

weeks, and 26 repeats after that. AI was usedfor the first 6 weeks and a Limousin andSimmental stock bull are currently runningwith the herd. The calves are doing really well,with a favourable spring in terms of weatherand grass growth in the West of Ireland. At thestart of May the bull calves were averaging136kg (1.22kg/day) and the heifer calves were119kg (1.14kg/day). The weekly herd notes areavailable on www.newfordsucklerbeef.ie.

Fertility pays off at Newford

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‘Select Farm’ BeefProducer MeetingIn January, a group of 20 M&S ‘Select Farm’ beefproducers attended a beef producer meeting inKettering. The producers met with Oliver Redmanand Anna Playfair-Hannay from M&S as well asmembers of the Dawn Meats team. Attendeeswere updated on the current trading environmentwithin the M&S retail sector for beef.

The beef producers also got the chance to seesome of the retail products which Dawn Meatsproduce for M&S, these included beef joints andsome of the added value products. Thishighlighted to the producers some of thechallenges which the supply chain faces andthe importance of producing cattle to meetthe specification.

The meeting concluded with a very interestingQ&A session which discussed some of thechallenges and opportunities facing the beefsector.

World SteakChallengeDawn Meats are proud tohave received a Gold award atthe World Steak Challenge 2017 forits grass fed 28 month Shorthorn Sirloin Steak.Now in its third year, the World Steak Challengewas held at The Magic Roundabout in Old Street,London on 4th of July.

The global challenge, which recognises Gold andSilver Medal steak quality, was presented by GlobalMeat News. This year's competition saw 17 countriesand 25 breeds represented with more than 90entries involved across the categories. Each steakwas judged against internationally agreed criteria,that covered both raw and cooked technical testing.A two-stage judging process ensured that eachsteak was sampled by both a panel of expert judgesand a panel of consumer judges. Each entry isjudged on a variety of factors including marbling,trim, aroma, succulence and taste.

Commenting on the Gold Award, Mike Roach, DawnMeats, said: “We are proud to have been awardedGold by the panel at this year’s World SteakChallenge. Not only is it testament to the hard workand dedication of our top class producers, it is agreat endorsement of our exclusive process whichcombines tradition and technology to consistentlyproduce an outstanding steak. We are delighted thatthe Judges enjoyed them as much as we enjoyedselecting, producing and presenting them.”

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Congratulations to Dawn Carnabyplacement student Helen Whalley who waspresented with the Gary Baker Award at theInstitute of Meat/Worshipful Company ofButchers Annual Prize giving in February. TheAward is given to a student at Harper Adamswho is carrying out an undergraduatedegree that has relevance to the meat andlivestock industry. The student mustdemonstrate their intention of pursuing acareer in the meat industry by submitting areport to show their understanding of thered meat sector, the value of their placementyear and their future career plans.

Helen’s 12 month placement was based inDawn Carnaby in Bridlington, East Yorkshire

and her time was divided between theabattoir, office and travelling to farms aroundthe UK to undertake farm audits.

Commenting on her experience with DawnMeats she said ‘One of the highlights of myplacement was being able to see the whole‘farm to fork’ process, with a number of ourown lambs killed, graded, and then processedin the boning hall at Carnaby’.

Ayr CountyShow

AHDB ‘Liveto Dead’

Food Safety Week 2017Dawn Meats held a weeklong seriesof activities dedicated to the subjectof Food Safety from 13th to 17thFebruary. The aim of the initiativewas to encourage Food Safetyamongst employers, customers andsuppliers both in work and in theirhome environments.

Key topics covered during the week included;Temperature Control, Handwashing,Allergens, Cross Contamination and HideCleanliness. Messages around each of thetopics were delivered using a variety ofvisuals, interactive games, quizzes, freebiesand handouts.

Throughout the week a number ofengaging activities and challenges wereheld including a UV Hand Wash Challenge,Thermometer Game, Fridge Challenge andWear White to Work.

We are looking forward to making FoodSafety Week 2018 even bigger and better.

UCD Management CourseA group of 20 participants on Dawn MeatsGraduate Trainee Scheme havesuccessfully completed a speciallydesigned and delivered managementprogramme at University College Dublin.

Training was held over 9 months andcovered elements of supply chain

management, traceability, sustainability andfood safety. Graduates were coached inareas of leadership, management,communication, innovation and leanbusiness principles.

Congratulations to everyone on successfullycompleting the course.

PlacementAward

For Livestock SupplyEnquiries Please ContactHighland Meats George Brown 07971 147775

Dawn Cardington Donal Horgan 07876 597968

Dawn Carnaby Shaun Garbutt 07974 184313

Dawn Cumbria David Hewat 07968 104269

Dawn Treburley Kelvin Heard 07595 651700

Dawn West Devon Arthur Cleave 07770 474827

The Ayr County Show took place on the13th of May 2017 at Ayr Racecourse.Despite the threat of bad weather thecrowds attended in great numbers andthe footfall on the stand was consistentthroughout the day.

The team from Highland Meats enjoyedmeeting and engaging with suppliers atthe event and as always, they look forwardto doing it all again next year.

Dawn Meats recently hosted an AHDB“Live to Dead” event in its Cardingtonsite. The group was provided with afactory tour, were instructed first-handhow to grade an animal and where tolook for fat. The impact of breed andhealth on the classification of thecarcase was also highlighted.

There are two more ‘Live to Dead’ eventsscheduled this year, Tuesday 12thSeptember and Tuesday 28th November.

To book a place, contact Amy Panton on07775 818795 oramy.panton@dawnmeats.com