In the 1990s, a small farm was considered to be 40 hectares. With high performance and moderate debt levels these farms were thought to have a good chance of survival. This was the basis of an article by James Allen in ...

In the last thirty years the size of the average New Zealand dairy herd has almost tripled. Despite this growth, 36% of herds are considered small with less than 250 cows. It is important to develop an understanding of the ...

The business plans and personal requirements of small-herd dairy farmers are to be put under the spotlight as part of a survey being organised by Lincoln University Lecturer in Agricultural Management and Agribusiness, Dr ...

In the last thirty years the size of the average New Zealand dairy herd has almost tripled. Despite this growth, 36% of herds are considered small with less that 250 cows. It is important to develop an understanding of the ...

There is a wide variation in the scale of New Zealand dairy herds, 18% of farmers manage more than 600 cows, while 69% of farmers have herds with less than 400 cows (DairyNZ & LIC 2012/13). The smaller scale farms, those ...

With the constant cost price squeeze, farmers with smaller farms must constantly consider their options to maintain their purchasing power. Some farmers will sell, others will buy extra land, some will sell and shift onto ...

The productivity of New Zealand’s sheep and beef farmers has increased over the past decade. However, on-farm productivity needs to lift further for New Zealand’s red meat to continue to be competitive in world markets. ...

A major constraint facing the New Zealand consultancy sector is the time and cost of training novice farm management consultants. An industry funded training programme has been developed to improve the proficiency of novice ...

Soil acidity combined with low levels of key nutrients on New Zealand hill-country farms are limiting factors for legume establishment/growth. However, legumes are a critical component of these farms as they provide nitrogen ...