Agrarian restructuring in New Zealand

Abstract

In this research report the farm and structural changes in New Zealand between 1984 and 1990 are described by way of analysis of official statistics. A brief review of theory on family farms under capitalism precedes data on changes in the financial position of farms. Incomes for many farms fell sharply by 1986, then rose to remain at lower than the 1976 to 1985 ten year average. While financial pressure has eased recently, it is still unevenly distributed as a minority of farms hold a majority of debt. In recent years the proportion of income from off-farm sources has increased. An analysis of structural changes shows that sheep numbers have decreased noticeably while dairy stock and deer numbers have increased. There has been continued declines in the rate of increase in farm numbers, and for 1990 there was, for the first time, a decline in farm numbers. Also, there is a return to the 'disappearing middle' across the range of farm sizes. Significant or commercial farms total about one half of all farms in New Zealand. Farm employment data show a decline then an increase in the total between 1984 and 1990, and all of the increases occurred in the full-time female category. Some company ownership of land occurs but there is no sign of significant gains in corporate farming. The report concludes with a description of farm level responses and then makes some concluding points about the persistence of family farms in New Zealand agriculture.