Farmer confidence hits all-time low

Meat and wool farmers are the most pessimistic. (Image: Getty)

Tue, 07 Feb 2023

Farmer confidence hit an all-time low in the latest Federated Farmers survey.Of 1,103 responses from farm businesses around the country, a net of 65.2% considered current economic conditions to be bad. That’s 17.4 points worse than the survey in July last year and a record low for the survey that’s been running since 2009.Meat and wool farmers are the most pessimistic. A net 81.8% of farmer respondents expected economic conditions to deteriorate over the next 12 months, 0.9 points down from the survey six months ago.“Expe...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Policy Exclusive

Fish-hooks snag Nash's US foreign investor pitch

Claims of government support 'not as clear as they could be', says Invest NZ.

Pattrick Smellie 5:00am

Sustainable Finance

Responsible investors defy detractors

The hard gains of sustainable finance need to be defended: Auckland conference.

Greg Hurrell 5:00am

Policy

Cloudfunding: what next for Auckland events centre

The Crown offered to sell The Cloud for $1, BusinessDesk understands.

Oliver Lewis 5:00am

Cloudfunding: what next for Auckland events centre

Sponsored

Future leaders start by Dreaming Big

How OnBeingBold empowers Year 13 girls at free leadership events.

OnBeingBold

Sponsored

Free AI training blitz targets 10,000 Kiwis

Workshops aim to close NZ’s AI skills gap and boost productivity – no tech skills required.

Sponsored by Lumify

More Primary Sector

Primary Sector

Without Dawn Meats, Alliance faces 'real’ threat of collapse

The fate of the deal will come down to a shareholder vote next month.

Riley Kennedy 5:00am

Primary Sector

Dawn Meats offer for Alliance above independent valuation

A vote will be held next month.

Riley Kennedy 18 Sep 2025

Primary Sector

MyFarm KiwiFruit Fund launches $35 million capital raise

The MyFarm KiwiFruit Fund has launched a $35 million capital raise for wholesale and institutional investors, and those offshore that qualify for the Active Investor Plus visa.Units are being offered at $1.02, a 5% discount to the fund’s net asset value.The offer, which will clos...

Rebecca Howard 18 Sep 2025

Primary Sector

TTR seabed mining bid not affected by law change

No-go zones will not apply to controversial mining bid.

Ian Llewellyn 18 Sep 2025

Farmer confidence hits all-time low

More Primary Sector

Your company has a subscription

Team