Arable was the group with the highest percentage of farmers feeling under pressure (30 percent) and they also had the lowest percentage feeling very satisfied or satisfied (60 percent), although they also had the highest proportion feeling neutral.
“This might reflect a combination of some poor to average recent harvests, competition from cheap imported grain reducing demand and prices, and the fact arable farmers, because of the very nature of their businesses, have very lumpy farm incomes and thus need bigger overdraft facilities compared to other farm types,” Hoggard said.
Sharemilkers, which were often the farming group who in past surveys had felt under comparatively greater pressure from banks than others, expressed higher than average satisfaction rates in the November survey.
Hoggard said a contributing factor was that the average sharemilkers’ interest rates are now only marginally higher compared to other farming groups.
