Building trust
OPINION: The war of words between Southland farmers and Environment Southland over winter grazing inspections reflects a deep lack of trust among farmers for the regional council.
Feds president Wayne Langford says farmers are dealing with a lot at the moment with high interest rates, huge inflation and a steep decline in both meat and milk prices they receive for their products.
“We’re also facing an unprecedented level of regulatory change that is heaping on costs, undermining profitability and creating huge uncertainty for farmers.
“Unfortunately, all these challenges have arrived at the same time, which just compounds the pressure farmers are feeling – it’s just not sustainable.
“We have real concerns about farmer wellbeing and what this might mean for farming families, rural communities, and the wider New Zealand economy.
“When farmers aren’t profitable or feeling confident, they stop spending money and try to cut any costs they can from their business. The implications of that flow right through the economy,” Langford added.
The Farmer Confidence survey was conducted in July 2023 – prior to Fonterra’s announcement that it was slashing $1 from their 2023/24 forecast milk price.
The four biggest concerns for farmers were debt, interest and banks, regulation and compliance costs, and climate change and ETS policy.
“This is the second successive farmer confidence survey to set a new record low with a steep decline over the last six months – so we’re sounding the alarm,” Langford says.
“This should serve as a wake-up call for all political parties, banks and processors that something needs to urgently change.
“There needs to be a real focus on reducing the costs and uncertainty farmers are facing.”
