Dairy buoyant
The Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found farmers' expectations for their own business operations had also improved, with the net reading on this measure lifting to +37% from +19% previously.
Rabobank head of business development New Zealand, Karen Kenny says Holgate brought considerable resource management expertise to the role.
Kenny said Holgate's appointment to the position of rural manager Sustainable Farm Systems was among initiatives the bank was undertaking to assist clients and the wider agricultural sector meet the challenges of maintaining competitiveness while adjusting to environmental regulation.
"With our exclusive focus on food and agribusiness globally, Rabobank is in a unique position to share with its clients the knowledge, tools, worldwide network and financial solutions to help farmers produce more, in a more sustainable manner," she says.
Kennys says with the increasingly complex and diverse water quality regulations under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, Holgate's brief was to help clients and Rabobank's rural managers understand nutrient and water management strategies that would maximise on-farm efficiencies and competitiveness.
"Rabobank sees its role as working with clients to understand their current status and, where farmers are unsure about how to meet current or future environmental regulations, to assist with knowledge and financial solutions to help them make the transition to financial and environmental sustainability," she says.
"Hailing from a sheep and beef farming family, Mr Holgate has a genuine passion in this field and he also has a unique set of skills to provide insightful and practical information that will help enable farmers to develop farming systems that are both sustainable and profitable."
Holgate, who hails from a sheep and beef farming family, previously practised as an environmental lawyer and has an MBA from Otago University. He says Rabobank is taking a proactive approach to raising awareness of environmental sustainable farm systems and options with clients.
"The issues for farmers in response to the NPS are challenging and complex and Rabobank recognises that this is a very long-term issue," he says.
Based in Dunedin, Holgate will work across Rabobank's New Zealand network.
