The Premium Debate: Subscribers react to farmers facing a ‘profit squeeze’

Opinion

OPINION

Soaring costs and a “profit squeeze” hitting the agriculture sector have prompted warnings that farmers will continue to slash their budgets this year. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said the rising costs hitting the sector were driven by interest expenses (up 39 per cent), feed (21 per cent) and fertiliser (28 per cent) over the past 12 months. Most farms would be feeling the “profit squeeze” and it was important farmers identified must-haves and nice-to-haves to find areas to trim costs, he said. This included pausing non-essential capital projects and sharing budgets with trusted advisers, bankers, accountants, and other farmers.

Read the full story: Farmers face profit squeeze and told to cut nice-to-haves.

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Having screwed up our super revenue earner, tourism, by prolonging the Covid isolation and slamming the immigration doors shut, you’d think the Government would be helping farmers to try to compensate for the drop in international revenue. Instead, it seems intent on destroying NZ’s biggest export industry as well.

- Jonathan F

Those in charge continually make ideological regulations that, in my view, increase costs and decrease viability, destroying the backbone of the country so that they can virtue signal at our collective expense. What harms our farmers harms us all in countless ways.

- Jonathan S

It’s interesting how a government’s recklessness and bad policies can cause so many different sectors and many individuals to suffer. We desperately need a good government.

- Jill G

I wish farmers the best both mentally and financially … let’s hope, like the teachers, doctors, nurses, technicians etc, [farmers] can all hang on until October.

- Mark C

If we get another left-wing government including the Greens I guarantee the dairy farmers will get forced to reduce herd sizes and pay tax on unrealised capital gains on farm values.

- Richard M

If you have been watching the Greens over the last few months, in my view they are self-destructing to the point they are no longer green as they are preoccupied with their internal fighting. They won’t be around for much longer. Farmers have done a phenomenal amount to mitigate climate change, we don’t need the Greens to tell us what to do. Farmers will work with science, not the Greens.

- Chrissie C

Republished comments may be edited at the editor’s discretion.

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