It’s the biggest marketplace in New Zealand agriculture and vendors will probably be feeling pretty good about making a few sales. And why wouldn’t they? Prices for our products are looking good with a relatively stable milk price, good returns for lamb and beef and horticulture holding up as the rock star of the sector.
But there are reservations in the sectors as well. Statistics released last week show dairy farmers are failing to make a dent in their mortgages, in fact sector’s debt is rising. Farm expenses are on the up as well.
Sheep and beef farmers are banding together to confront the spread of forests as big investors swoop in looking to make a buck in this changing, carbon-savvy economy.
The theme of Fieldays this year is cultivating value and there are still myriad opportunities to do that on the land. But it might take some different thinking than we’ve seen in the past. Twenty years ago as the white gold rush kicked off we saw wholesale conversions and big systems changes. Before that we had the first forestry boom. As things stand now we could see a second but another rush of wholesale change isn’t the answer.
The tea leaves surely tell us diversity is the key in the new world where every farm is scrutinised and every purchase is considered. Trees and livestock can coexist and contribute to a story worth telling, both to our cities and the world. But to cultivate that value we need a rich topsoil.
That means the economic and regulatory framework must be sound. If farmers are forever looking over their shoulders for the next regulatory storm that value will be lost in the wind.
Bryan Gibson
