July 31, 2025 • 3 mins
The latest Farmer Confidence survey shows farmers are seeing one of the highest lifts in confidence in recent memory.
The July survey shows the rural mood has improved significantly this year, rebounding from record lows 12 months ago.
The Country's Hamish McKay explains further.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks'd be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And Running the Country dot co. Dot M said this
week versus Hamish Mackay, who joins us now not need
to talk to you again, Hamish, and can I say
you're looking good?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Oh? I think fifty five kilos off does help the
old get the old carcass around, if you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, Now, you guys have been talking about a rural
rural divide. We've heard about the rural urban divide, but
this is a rural rural divide. Are you trying to
suggest that farmers are not of one mind?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Well, you know the egg Proud organization came out quite
a a year or two ago and said, look, there
is no one way, but we have to be one,
you know, if we want to if farmers want to
make some real progress here. And there's nothing wrong with
farm gate prices at the moment, but they'd never be
agreeing enough so to speak, to put together something like
(01:04):
the Dutch with as a farmer's party that actually gets
into parliament. It's a little bit of call poppy. There
was too great, a great example was Jeff Ross's and
Jeff and Justine Ross's Lake harwe A station where they
had the they had the mattresses at the bottom of
the shearing porthole and the sheep went down, and rural
New Zealand just went into this, you know, off the
wall kind of attack on what they were. Who really cares?
(01:26):
And then a week later the beautiful Ruinui station, which
has run just north of tire, happy old school traditional farm,
well it turns out that the Lake Harwere and ruin
It couldn't be more different in some people's eyes, but
in fact that they share so many of the same
sort of ideas and principles, and so you know, it's
it is not to be fair. It is not a
(01:47):
united front out there in the rural space, and it
probably needs to be.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
And to be fair, Jeff Ross had the last laugh
about how we are stationed as well, because only weeks
after that, Conde Nas came out and gave them a
fair star rating for their accommodation facilities and basically they're
they're turning a profit where many New Zealand farms aren't.
You know, so hello and I did rather like the
white shade that they painted the shearing shed so you
can see the blood spatters.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yes, you know, look look you know, I mean how
could you you know? I just I love what they
do there. It's different, but it's still great. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Now we've got a farmer confidence survey out this week
and farmers, yeah, farmers are pretty happy.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, look, very farmers. A huge lift in their confidence
and they are at that plus ten dollars per kilogram
of milk solids, which can represent a pretty good year
for those who produce at a good level sheep and
beef and lamb. Lamb's being very strong, beef, very very strong.
So though the confidence across those sectors is definitely out,
(02:46):
not so much for the grain and the seed and
the arable guys that they are struggling a little bit
and their confidence is down just there the volatility of
the global market for them. And also there's you know,
things like you know, having to deal with pests and
disease and then yet we get an outfit like Bayer
having to shut down their New Zealand research development arm
(03:07):
and so you know, a fear few challenges for our
arable farmers. But you'd have to say, across the board
farmer confidence definitely up.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
And that's a good thing because it all flows through.
And I thank you very much. Hemus Rakai from the Country,
The Country, dot co, dot MZ.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks'd be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And Running the Country dot co. Dot M said this
week versus Hamish Mackay, who joins us now not need
to talk to you again, Hamish, and can I say
you're looking good?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Oh? I think fifty five kilos off does help the
old get the old carcass around, if you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, Now, you guys have been talking about a rural
rural divide. We've heard about the rural urban divide, but
this is a rural rural divide. Are you trying to
suggest that farmers are not of one mind?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Well, you know the egg Proud organization came out quite
a a year or two ago and said, look, there
is no one way, but we have to be one,
you know, if we want to if farmers want to
make some real progress here. And there's nothing wrong with
farm gate prices at the moment, but they'd never be
agreeing enough so to speak, to put together something like
(01:04):
the Dutch with as a farmer's party that actually gets
into parliament. It's a little bit of call poppy. There
was too great, a great example was Jeff Ross's and
Jeff and Justine Ross's Lake harwe A station where they
had the they had the mattresses at the bottom of
the shearing porthole and the sheep went down, and rural
New Zealand just went into this, you know, off the
wall kind of attack on what they were. Who really cares?
(01:26):
And then a week later the beautiful Ruinui station, which
has run just north of tire, happy old school traditional farm,
well it turns out that the Lake Harwere and ruin
It couldn't be more different in some people's eyes, but
in fact that they share so many of the same
sort of ideas and principles, and so you know, it's
it is not to be fair. It is not a
(01:47):
united front out there in the rural space, and it
probably needs to be.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
And to be fair, Jeff Ross had the last laugh
about how we are stationed as well, because only weeks
after that, Conde Nas came out and gave them a
fair star rating for their accommodation facilities and basically they're
they're turning a profit where many New Zealand farms aren't.
You know, so hello and I did rather like the
white shade that they painted the shearing shed so you
can see the blood spatters.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yes, you know, look look you know, I mean how
could you you know? I just I love what they
do there. It's different, but it's still great. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Now we've got a farmer confidence survey out this week
and farmers, yeah, farmers are pretty happy.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, look, very farmers. A huge lift in their confidence
and they are at that plus ten dollars per kilogram
of milk solids, which can represent a pretty good year
for those who produce at a good level sheep and
beef and lamb. Lamb's being very strong, beef, very very strong.
So though the confidence across those sectors is definitely out,
(02:46):
not so much for the grain and the seed and
the arable guys that they are struggling a little bit
and their confidence is down just there the volatility of
the global market for them. And also there's you know,
things like you know, having to deal with pests and
disease and then yet we get an outfit like Bayer
having to shut down their New Zealand research development arm
(03:07):
and so you know, a fear few challenges for our
arable farmers. But you'd have to say, across the board
farmer confidence definitely up.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
And that's a good thing because it all flows through.
And I thank you very much. Hemus Rakai from the Country,
The Country, dot co, dot MZ.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
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