The sale yards shut down this year. Never in NZ’s history has any other event been able to do that. But, what that established was while there is a virtual world of selling livestock, of which some platforms have found success, there will always be a place for sale yards. They are needed to create the benchmarks that paddock sales and online sales rely on to ensure that buyers and sellers are getting a fair deal. They have never been more important than this year, and we really felt the effect when they weren’t there. What hit harder than anything when the sale yards shut down was that several regions were facing very dry and drought conditions, and their closure just added yet another blow. The ease of offloading when sale yards are operating was taken away and that added its own challenges on top of dealing with the drought itself.
Prices haven’t even come close to last year’s levels and it seems almost a cruel twist of fate that we were at such extreme highs just over 12 months ago, only to be plummeted – or so it felt – to the levels that we see today. But given everything that has been thrown at the farming sector this year, it could have been worse.
Price levels are not in unchartered territory and considering the odds the markets have held up surprisingly well. Drought had a big impact on the markets earlier in the year, but it was great to see the confidence come back in as a late spring was plentiful in growth and meant many could start to restock.
And each day that I wake up on a farm in NZ where I can move and breath freely, is a good day. Yes, we’ve faced some challenges, but they only make us stronger and NZ farmers have more guts and determination than many others.
Stand tall and proud NZ farmers, say cheers to 2020 and collectively look forward to 2021, because if we stand together, we can make it what it is – just look at what we did with 2020.
