New Zealand farmers need to respect what their top end customers want from their exports if they want greater returns from their overseas markets, one of the country's top agribusiness academics says. Those consumers were demanding products farmed with high levels of animal welfare that produced a low environmental impact. The biggest concern UK and European consumers have is animal welfare and farmers should not underestimate its power, Professor Caroline Saunders told farmers at Beef+Lamb's winter seminar at Lincoln University.