The best farmers are not farming as we know it

[stewart]

let's face it NZ agriculture has got away with a lot of practices that would create
public outrage in the UK so a bit like comparing apples with pears.

What a lot of crap. Just what have they got away with? Typical UK attitude, if it’s done differently than the UK it must be wrong.
I’ve farmed in both countries so am fully aware of both farming systems. We farm differently due to climatic conditions, that has very little to do with marketing, UK agriculture hasn’t got a clue how to market produce,

 

[Derrick Hughes]

What a lot of crap. Just what have they got away with? Typical UK attitude, if it’s done differently than the UK it must be wrong.
I’ve farmed in both countries so am fully aware of both farming systems. We farm differently due to climatic conditions, that has very little to do with marketing, UK agriculture hasn’t got a clue how to market produce,

You still use stuff thats been banned in a lot of Countries but we buy your produce ,
One part of that seems wrong to me
Im not judging you ,not sure if i even agree with some of it be banned in the first place
Do you still use
Trifluralin

 

[willy]

Basically the mills and supermarkets control a protection racket in the UK, but use places such as NZ to beat us with!!! Allowing prodilucts in here that would be illegal to do in the UK but they like it because they can us it for price control. It’s simple, yes I’m sure NZ are good at marketing and trade deals as they have a small population and so have to find someone to eat it. Where as we have a ready made market but are kept under control by importing inferior products produced cheaper because they have more tools in their box I.e neionictonids

 

[livestock 1]

 

[livestock 1]

 

[livestock 1]

Few more millions there it says they pay more subsidies than they receive in tax and the taxpayer pays for it

 

[lloyd]

What a lot of crap. Just what have they got away with? Typical UK attitude, if it’s done differently than the UK it must be wrong.
I’ve farmed in both countries so am fully aware of both farming systems. We farm differently due to climatic conditions, that has very little to do with marketing, UK agriculture hasn’t got a clue how to market produce,

Shall we discuss the virtues of air dropping 1080?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Gotta be true if Damien O'Gonner and "Dr" Mike Joy have said it

(Mike Joy is NZ's version of Monbiot, and O'Connor was ag minister a few years back)

 

[robs1]

What a lot of crap. Just what have they got away with? Typical UK attitude, if it’s done differently than the UK it must be wrong.
I’ve farmed in both countries so am fully aware of both farming systems. We farm differently due to climatic conditions, that has very little to do with marketing, UK agriculture hasn’t got a clue how to market produce,

When you are only 60% self sufficient and you are producing a commodity product such as wheat or milk you shouldn't need to market your product, the processors should be fighting for it, the consumer doesn't buy wheat and milk only to put in their tea the rest is processed why would we market those products? Of course UK farm produce is marketed to some extent by RT, that has really increased our prices, dairy crest was farmer owned much like some of the NZ co ops, central grain stores do "market" their crops but to processors not consumers, when you have to sell it into a foreign market then you need to market it and cooperate to export it, I think your not comparing like with like, European farmers don't market directly either.
Do the makers of steel or components market cars, do brick makers market houses ?
Some farmers selling direct to processors and even to the likes of McDonald's or marks and Spencers, their prices are still very largely dependent on the general market prices.
Most of what we produce goes direct to the end buyer but it's not into the food sector, UK consumers want cheap food I've yet to see a promotion that says buy my product it's dearer than the rest

 

[lloyd]

Gotta be true if Damien O'Gonner and "Dr" Mike Joy have said it

(Mike Joy is NZ's version of Monbiot, and O'Connor was ag minister a few years back)

Wikipedia actually.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Do you really think we will see that same rate of growth in value from current levels? I certainly don’t.

Dad was saying that for the last 50 years!

 

[lloyd]

I personally think all this NZ is better at marketing than the UK is b**lpoo,
it just benefited from a very weak currency years ago and now the much stronger NZ dollar
is having the opposite effect.

2001 NZ dollar 3.6 to the british pound.
2024 NZ dollar 2.1 to the british pound.

NZ produce is far less competitive than years ago.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Exactly correct. There are some ego’s on here that seem to think their country is soo much better than little old England. We all play our part from Bangladesh to Bolivia. And in every one of our country’s we should be proud of the food we produce and should not be ashamed to want a good price.

What about 'from Burkina Faso to Upper Volta'?

 

[Poorbuthappy]

UK agriculture hasn’t got a clue how to market produce,

That'll be why your sheep prices are so much better than ours then?

 

[neilo]

Dad was saying that for the last 50 years!

Land price has been artificially inflated by tax reliefs and uncapped subsidies in recent decades.
It was only 30 years ago that it was relative to the earning capacity of that land, now that's almost irrelevant.

A lot of those increases in value could be wiped out in a stroke by a couple of political decisions.

 

[Henarar]

A lot of those increases in value could be wiped out in a stroke by a couple of political decisions.

As a land owner I probably shouldn't say this but it may be far better if it was

 

[lloyd]

Land price has been artificially inflated by tax reliefs and uncapped subsidies in recent decades.
It was only 30 years ago that it was relative to the earning capacity of that land, now that's almost irrelevant.

A lot of those increases in value could be wiped out in a stroke by a couple of political decisions.

Mmm land was selling for £3k an acre in 84 and interest rates were hitting
double digits .i'm not sure at 4x as much it's any dearer today considering that
was 40 years ago.

 

[neilo]

As a land owner I probably shouldn't this but it may be far better if it was

It's probably only land owners, and their bankers, who would argue against it tbh.

 

[neilo]

Mmm land was selling for £3k an acre in 84 and interest rates were hitting
double digits .i'm not sure at 4x as much it's any dearer today considering that
was 40 years ago.

And you could still pay for it from farming it.
In 1990/1 farming profitability was on the floor and that same land would have been £1k/ac, if you could find a taker.

Now, there's not a cat's chance in hell of paying for land through farming it.

 

[lloyd]

And you could still pay for it from farming it.
In 1990/1 farming profitability was on the floor and that same land would have been £1k/ac, if you could find a taker.

Now, there's not a cat's chance in hell of paying for land through farming it.

There was a global economic downturn in the early 90s with the USA going into
recession with confidence low and interest rates high.People back then thought
cash in the bank a safer bet where as the last 20 years it has provided a pittance on savings.
Quite different times it would take a lot to crash land prices now.
That said who knows what events unfold.