DairyNZ: Strong payouts offset high farm costs
The dairy sector is in a relatively stable position, with strong milk price payout forecasts continuing to offset ongoing high farm costs, according to DairyNZ.
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.
