Thursday, 18 December 2025 17:55

Farmer confidence dips slightly, but positivity still dominates

Written by  Staff Reporters
Rabobank NZ chief executive Todd Charteris Rabobank NZ chief executive Todd Charteris

Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.

But it's not all bad news according to the bank's NZ chief executive Todd Charteris.

The survey shows that 40% of farmers were now expecting the performance of the broader agri economy to improve in the year ahead – down from 51% in the previous quarter, while the number expecting conditions to worsen had risen to 12%.

Previously this was 5%.

Charteris said the dip in sentiment this quarter had been driven by lower confidence among dairy farmers.

He says however it’s important to put the latest result into context.

“The confidence readings across the first three quarters of the year have been incredibly high and, while confidence has come back a bit since September, it’s important to note the latest result is still very strong,” he says.


Read More:


Charteris says positivity remains the dominant sentiment across the sector with four in ten farmers expecting conditions in the broader agri economy to improve across the next 12 months.

More like this

Featured

Lincoln Student Awarded Dairy Scholarship

The South Island Dairy Event has announced Jessica Findlay as the recipient of the BrightSIDE Scholarship Programme, recognising her commitment to furthering her education and future career in the New Zealand dairy industry.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Penny Pinching

OPINION: A mate of yours truly reckons rural Manawatu families are the latest to suffer under what he calls the…

New Order

OPINION: If old Winston Peters thinks building trade relations with new nations, such as India, isn't a necessary investment in…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter