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The survey of 1400 dairy, sheep, beef and arable farmers shows confidence remains stuck in historically low territory.
OPINION: Federated Farmers' latest Farm Confidence survey brings little comfort to the farming sector.
The survey of 1400 dairy, sheep, beef and arable farmers shows confidence remains stuck in historically low territory.
Farmers have been facing challenging times in recent years – trying hard to earn a living amid high interest rates, low commodity prices and sky-high input costs.
The last term of the Labour Government brought no respite, as an avalanche of regulations was dropped on them from winter grazing to pricing methane emissions.
The Coalition Government provided some relief by unwinding some of Labour’s unfair regulations – like repealing some draconian aspects of winter grazing regulations and promising to keep agriculture out of an emissions trading scheme for the time being.
So, it’s incredibly frustrating to see farmer confidence still sitting at these stubbornly low levels.
The Government have done a lot of work repealing and rewriting some of the most unworkable regulations, but there’s still so much more to be done. But the six-monthly survey clearly shows it’s not only regulation that’s eroding farmer confidence.
There are a whole range of other issues that are also having an impact – including concerns about banking, high interest rates, soft farm-gate prices, the ability to find staff, and the general economic outlook for the country.
The survey also paints a bleak picture of what’s happening with farm profitability - just over a third of farmers are making a loss right now, while only 27% say they’re making a profit and 39% breaking even. If that’s not bad enough, more than half of farmers expect their profitability to decline over the next 12 months.
Feds want to see farmers thriving and feeling confident, not lying in bed stressing about how to pay their bills and keep the lights on.
Because they know that when farmers lose confidence, they cut their spending and shave costs from their business, and that has major flow-on effects for the wider economy.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
OPINION: Have a plan in place now!
Will the good times last? That's one of the key issues to come out of the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey.
Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers arable chair, Bevan Lill, said Beef + Lamb NZ data indicated that for the last six years, the average arable return on investment was about 0.8% while inflation ran about 4% - so the average arable farm was going backwards at about 3% a year.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
