Tuesday, 07 February 2023 11:55

Uncertainty prevails

Written by  Peter Burke
DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel. DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel.

DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel says uncertainty in the dairy industry is causing farmers to think twice before investing big time in the sector.

He says while the banks are offering money to invest in the sector, farmers are taking quite a cautious approach.

He says this is because of several things such as the shortage of labour, government legislation and the milk price coming down.

“As a result, there is a real reluctance among farmers to borrow that extra money,” he says.

Van der Poel says that is a reflection of things at the moment, with confidence is quite low and people are worried about what the future may hold.

He says costs have gone up, the last two GDTs haven’t been positive and there is still a labour shortage. He says in the last three years farmers have had to work harder than they would have liked.

“It would appear that they are taking stock, sitting back for a while and seeing how things play out including what actions the Chris Hipkins government might take in the coming months,” he says.

More like this

Featured

All eyes on NZ milk supply

All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.

National

Machinery & Products

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Building trust

OPINION: The war of words between Southland farmers and Environment Southland over winter grazing inspections reflects a deep lack of trust…

No Joy

OPINION: Milking It understands a formal disciplinary process is being conducted by Victoria University of Wellington on what one of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter