More farmers under mortgage pressure

That's up from 6.6% in August and 7.6% in November.

"So far we've been pleased with the support of banks and their long-term view of the dairy industry, but one in 10 farmers feeling the squeeze is a worrying statistic," says Federated Farmers Dairy chair Andrew Hoggard.

"With prices not expected to recover until next year this increase in pressure from banks means farmers need to be even more proactive in budgeting and planning, and making the most of support available from DairyNZ, accountants and farm advisors."

Hoggard is also calling for action to address the global market conditions affecting NZ dairy farmers.

"Softer demand from China and displaced product [not going to] Russia isn't helping the situation, but the real issue is increased production from Europe driven by the retention of subsidies," he says.

"It's concerning that some European countries want to move backwards to more regulation. Instead they need to keep moving forward to more market orientated structures. The more farmers around the world live with the economic realities of the decisions they make, the more stable a market we will get for all farmers.

"This is something our government needs to take up via direct diplomatic channels and the World Trade Organisation, and if next season is going to be any different from this one they're going to have to move quickly."

The Feds poll was taken early February, sampling 1225 members in all 24 provinces and seven industry groups. It asked a question about mortgage pressure also used in Feds August and November banking surveys with a similar sample size.