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Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard.
The latest Farm Confidence Survey has revealed that farmer confidence has hit yet another record low.
Of over 1,100 responses from farm businesses across New Zealand, 65.2% considered current economic conditions to be bad.
It marks a 17.4% rise in the number of farmers who believe the economy is in a bad state than the July 2022 survey.
It also marks the lowest level of farmer confidence in the 27 biannual Farm Confidence surveys Federated Farmers has conducted since 2009.
81.8% of farmers expected economic conditions to deteriorate over the next 12 months, 0.9 points down on the July 2022 survey.
"It’s not just inflation and rising farm input costs," says Federated Farmers president and economic spokesman Andrew Hoggard.
Asked to list their top three concerns, those who took part in the survey put climate change policy and the Emissions Trade Scheme at No 1. Debt, interest costs and bank pressure leapt to second place and at No 3 is regulation and compliance costs - a catch-all for the wave of reform, regulation, red tape and costs swamping the sector.
"Just one example - proposed replacement resource management legislation. It took 30 years for the existing RMA and amendments to swell to a bloated and tortuous 800-plus pages. The call was for something simpler, less cumbersome and costly but the proposed new legislation is just as lengthy," Hoggard says.
The survey found the four highest priorities farmers want the Government to address were Fiscal Policy; Economy & Business Environment; Regulation & Compliance Costs; and Supporting Agriculture & Exporters.
Faltering confidence means less investment in farm improvements and production, and lower spending in the provinces. The January survey registered a steep decline in profitability, with a net 28.4% of respondents reported making a profit currently, down 26.7 points on July 2022.
Looking ahead, 5.4% of respondents expect their production to decline over the year (4.9% down on six months ago) and 24.1% thought their spending would increase over the next 12 months, down 30.5 points on the July finding.
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Federated Farmers says it is cautiously welcoming signals from the Government that a major shake-up of local government is on its way.
Keep focused on things that can be controlled on farm.
According to Federated Farmers, Environment Southland has mishandled the consent process for Waituna Lagoon, leaving the community with numerous bad outcomes.
OPINION: The Government needs to act now to address consenting issues faced by farmers throughout the country.
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.
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