A positive outlook for the dairy and horticulture sectors has kept overall confidence high in the agricultural economy, Rabobank New Zealand general manager for country banking Hayley Moynihan says.
Confidence levels among New Zealand farmers remained high but had tempered slightly, the latest quarterly Rabobank rural confidence survey found.
After surging considerably in the previous quarter, supported by improved dairy farmer outlook, the latest survey recorded a small decline in sentiment.
The number of farmers expecting the rural economy to improve in the next 12 months had fallen to 39%, down from 48% in the previous quarter, while the number expecting it to worsen rose to 14%, up from 13%.
Prospects for the dairy and horticultural sectors were good for 2017 and, while overall confidence had come back slightly from last quarter, it was still significantly higher than the levels recorded throughout 2015 and early 2016, Ms Moynihan said.