Average sheep and beef farm profit before tax is forecast to fall 20% in the coming season. Beef + Lamb New Zealand chair Kate Acland says lamb farm-gate prices are forecast down 8% and beef cattle down 4.5%, while farm expenditure rises more than 4% and wool prices lift 3.1%. She says the result remains well above the five-year average.

Farmers and processors spend $64 million a day on goods and services nationwide.

“This is a really great news story for New Zealand,” she says.

“When farms are making money, they have the ability, they have options, they can start thinking about what comes next.”

She says farmers are planning ahead for likely El Niño conditions on the east coast and a drier season.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.