FARMERS CONFIDENCE HITS RECORD LOW

NEW ZEALAND farmer confidence –which was already at low levels – has plummeted further and now sits at an historical low.

According to the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey — completed late last month — farmer confidence is significantly down on the previous (September) quarter. The net confidence reading slumped to -71%, from -31% previously. positive contribution of NZ dairy to global food systems.

Rabobank says this net confidence reading is the lowest in the 20-year history of the survey and far exceeds the previous low of -45% recorded amid the dairy downturn in 2015.

The survey also found that the number of farmers expecting conditions in the agricultural economy to improve in the coming 12 months had fallen to 4% (from 12 % in the previous quarter), while the percentage expecting conditions to worsen rose to 75% (up from 43%).

THE FEDERATION of Maori Authorities (FOMA) which represents Māori interests on HWEN is hopeful of a positive response from government.

FOMA chair Traci Houpapa says she’s confident that at the end of the day, pragmatism, goodwill and common sense will prevail and that a good outcome will be achieved for the HWEN partners.

She says FOMA signed up to HWEN because it knows that climate change is a significant issue and matters for Māori, NZ and the world.

“FOMA has certainly positioned Māori in terms of levies, resources, investments, governance, sequestration and the pricing modelling which are outstanding and are on the table now for open discussion on how we might develop them,” she says.

Responding to criticism of the Government’s response to the HWEN proposal by the Māori Trustee, Dr Charlotte Severne, Traci Houpapa says the fact that Māori may disagree is no different to Pakeha.

“I could well ask Pakeha farmers, when are you all going to agree?” she says.

DCANZ also wants the Government to fully commit to a farm-level system from the outset through the removal of the processor-level backstop.

“As well, we want certainty to farmers as they

A total of 19% anticipated that the agricultural economy would remain stable (down from 44% previously).

Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris says farmers from all the sectors are now significantly more pessimistic about the prospects for the broader transition into a pricing system by capping levy prices for the first five years and ensuring they are set at the minimal level required to fund incentives, sequestration, research and development, and administration,” Crewther says. agri economy – with a cocktail of concerns weighing heavily on farmer sentiment.

“As with recent surveys, rising farm input costs and government policy were the two major reasons cited by farmers with a pessimistic outlook for the year ahead,” he says.