Adjustment strategies used by hill country farmers
| Autor: | P. A. G. Fraser, D. I. Gray, A. Wright, J. R. Nicholls |
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| Rok vydání: | 1990 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. :93-96 |
| ISSN: | 1179-4577 0369-3902 |
| DOI: | 10.33584/jnzg.1990.51.1923 |
| Popis: | A number of "progressive" farms in the Pongaroa district were surveyed in 1989 to learn how they had adjusted to deteriorating economic conditions over the period 1984/85 to 1987/88. The results from 20 case studies showed that the farmers had been successful in maintaining productivity. Total farm income per stock unit had increased by 1% and farm surplus by 8%. Adjustments featured improved performance from existing sheep and cattle enterprises, with greater emphasis on wool and dry stock. Diversification to new enterprises had not been an important change for any farmer. Expenditure on fertiliser, feed, repairs and maintenance, and vehicle expenses declined, and monitoring and control of expenditure increased. A comparison of farms that had maintained fertiliser applications with those that had not applied fertiliser showed little difference in gross farm income. Farmers were confident about the future viability of their farms, given a reduction in interest rates. A joint MAF/Federated Farmers' extension exercise in 1985 had been very successful in preparing farmers for the difficult period since 1984/85. Keywords farm adjustment, farm survey, Pongaroa district, hill country productivity, fertiliser use |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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