Editorial: Long overdue!
OPINION: The Government's latest move to make freshwater farm plans more practical and affordable is welcome, and long overdue.
OPINION: Unsurprisingly farmer confidence is the lowest it has been since Federated Farmers began twice-a-year surveys in 2009.
The lobby's January survey results show farmers - already concerned about a looming avalanche of Labour Government-sponsored legislation - are dealing with Omicron and rising costs, partly due to a war halfway around the world.
Of responses from nearly 1,000 farmers from around the country, a net 7.8% considered current economic conditions to be good, a 10.1 point decline from the July 2021 Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey, when 17.9% considered conditions to be good.
The survey shows farmers don't expect things to improve anytime soon. Looking forward, a net 64% of farmers believed general economic conditions would worsen over the next 12 months, a 25-point deterioration from the 39% in the July survey. Sentiment about general economic conditions is at the lowest level since the Feds surveys began in July 2009, surpassing the previous low in July 2020.
Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard says the results are even more disturbing when you consider farmers were answering the survey before the surge of Omicron cases in New Zealand and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both of which will weigh on economic growth.
While a net 61.1% of farmers reported making a profit, a 5.5 point increase on July 2021, a net 11.2% expected their profitability would decline in the year ahead, 16 points down on six months earlier when a net 4.4% expected profitability would improve. Farmers are enjoying strong returns on meat and dairy right now thanks to high global demand and food security concerns, but clearly they expect a lot of that revenue to go back out again with higher fuel and fertiliser prices, rising labour costs, and inflation.
The survey showed a net 52.7% of respondents expected their spending to increase over the next 12 months (up from 32.6% six months ago).
The survey also shows that staff shortage is also playing on the minds of farmers. This vindicates the dairy sector seeking more overseas workers.
Asked to list their greatest concerns, those farmers who completed the January survey chose climate change policy and ETS (18.7% of respondents), followed by regulation and compliance costs (13.1%), and freshwater policy (9.5%). This result is unchanged from the July 2021 survey and shows farmers concerns are deep-rooted and not going away anytime soon.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
New Zealand’s top cheeses for 2025 have been announced and family-owned, Oamaru-based Whitestone Cheese is the big winner.
Waikato farmer, and Owl Farm demonstration manager, Jo Sheridan is the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr believes the outlook for the dairy sector remains strong.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) awards.
OPINION: The Government's latest move to make freshwater farm plans more practical and affordable is welcome, and long overdue.
OPINION: Farmers won't get any credit for this from the daily media, so Milking It is giving the bouquets where…
OPINION: The Advertising Standards Authority’s 2024 report revealed that not only is social media rotting our brains, it is also…