Government appoints three new directors to Pāmu board
The Government has appointed three new members to the board of state farmer Landcorp Farming Ltd, trading as Pāmu.
The lease and sale of Landcorp farms could help young farmers buy their first farm under a National government.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy revealed this new dimension to National’s primary industry policy last week in Gisborne.
The policy somewhat resembles the ballot scheme which offered returned WWII ex-servicemen the opportunity to buy farms. The Department of Lands ran the scheme.
Guy says National would direct Landcorp to lease farms to young farmers, with the opportunity to buy them at market rates when they had built up enough capital. But to qualify they would have to work the land for five to ten years, or longer if they needed, to get the cash to buy.
Guy says the farms would be awarded on a lease-to-buy arrangement, with leases awarded by a panel and ballot.
It would be prioritised towards young farmers experienced at running a farm but not having already been sole owner of a farm.
“The Government owns a large number of commercial farms through Landcorp, but there is no clear public good from Crown ownership and little financial return to taxpayers.
“We think some of these farms would be better off in the hands of hard-working young farming families committed to modern farming and environmental best practice.
“Many farming families got their start through the old Lands and Survey ballot process and we want to give that opportunity to more New Zealanders.”
Guy says he would expect about 100 young farming families to benefit from the scheme.
Not all Landcorp’s 140 farms would be sold. Some larger farms would be divided into smaller units more appropriate for first-time owners.
He notes that many Landcorp farms are subject to Treaty claims and others to a right-of-first-refusal by iwi; these rights would be respected.
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.