Cashed-up farmers balance spending and debt repayment as confidence returns

Fieldays ran from Wednesday to Saturday last week. (Image: NZME/Mike Scott)

Mon, 16 Jun 2025

Farmers are either holding on to cash or repaying debt as they benefit from increased farmgate returns, ASB Bank’s head of rural says.The bank is the fourth largest lender to the rural sector among the major banks, according to Reserve Bank of NZ figures, with $10.3b worth of agriculture loans.Farmers – whether in dairy, horticulture or red meat – are enjoying better returns than in recent seasons.ASB’s general manager of rural, Aidan Gent, told BusinessDesk at Fieldays last week the bank had never before experienced suc...

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