Strategies for farming out of a loss situation on a typical northland hill country farm: A dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Diploma in Farm Management in Lincoln College

Abstract

Many farmers in the sheep and beef agricultural sector are facing major financial problems at present. Rural Bank general manager Mr Ray Chappel stated at a seminar (26/5/88) that 2500 farmers were either insolvent or had such a high debt that they would eventually be forced off their farms. Perhaps an even more serious threat to the industry are the 15000 Rural Bank customers whose debt exceeds 50 percent of their assets, which is considered unsatisfactorily high in farming circles. The aim of this dissertation therefore is to explore: Other ways of farming a designated model farm. The options investigated are: 1 Sharefarming 2 Working off farm 3 Two different lease options 4 Two different bull beef policies 5 A new cow policy 6 All wool farming