Farmers not such bad blokes after all

Farmers see negative headlines about dairying and assume they reflect public sentiment. But the latest DairyNZ survey, held in November, of 1500 non-farming people showed two thirds were either “very positive” or “somewhat positive” in their impressions of dairying. 

This was probably higher than most dairy farmers would expect. “We are doing all right, we are travelling pretty well,” Fraser told the DairyNZ Farmers Forum in Kerikeri.  The result was good considering the survey followed an election in which the Greens campaigned on water quality.

The result was similar to previous surveys but an interesting change was a 10% increase in the “very positive” and a 10% decrease in the “somewhat”, although the overall two-thirds positive result remained about the same as in previous surveys.

“It will be interesting to see if that trend continues,” said Fraser.

DairyNZ also asked those surveyed what they thought about other industries. Tourism is the poster child, it can do no wrong. Beef and lamb is up there, but dairy came in third, not too far behind despite all the headlines. “People don’t believe everything they read.”  

Fraser said there had also been positive headlines about farming, but farmers tended to be “sensitised” to the negative ones.

DairyNZ also dug a bit deeper and asked people ‘What’s important to you?’ (Participants were asked to rate 10 attributes from first to third.) “As you could guess, ‘protect the environment’ was the big one,” Fraser said. “This is a value really important to New Zealanders and so it is very important to us to perform here.”

The second most popular attribute was ‘world leading’. The public like us to do well, such as the All Blacks or being the world’s largest dairy exporter, Fraser said. “That’s a good story and that resonates with them.”

A surprise survey finding was that ‘be relatable and genuine’ was rated third. “That’s saying that people like the idea of the farmer as the backbone of the country – good, solid salt-of-the-earth, they contribute to the economy, great to have a beer with down at the pub, they would probably change your tyre on the side of the road, involved with the community. That idea of the dairy farmer they value a lot. Even though they might not be very connected to the farmer these days, it is still important to them.”

General responses ranged across a wide spectrum, from the ‘dirty dairying’ accusation to ‘I understand they have been working hard on this’ or ‘dairy farmers in my experience are aware of environmental values’.

“So some of those messages are getting through,” said Fraser. “This is where dairy farmers have talked to people in the community. You guys are the best advocates to sell your story. It is coming through in our research; they remember that and that affects perception.”

Survey respondents had a very positive perception of dairy farmers, Fraser said. His favourite quote was, “If my child wanted to be a dairy farmer, I would be more than happy to encourage them. I think they would have to be intelligent, hard-working and tenacious to succeed.”