New Zealand fanciers are tired of it

A record number of dairy farmers in New Zealand are putting their business up for sale or are planning to do so. This is apparent from the expectations of the New Zealand real estate institute. However, it is hard to find buyers for the companies.

Brokers in New Zealand have signaled a stagnation in the number of dairy farms for sale over the past six months. It will be short-lived, because a record number of dairy farms will be put up for sale in the near future.

Fewer companies sold
Up to and including October 2017, some 1.649 agricultural businesses were sold. That is a loss of 6,3% compared to the same period in 2016. Challenging weather conditions played an important role in the decline in sales.

Particularly in the Waikato and Southland regions, many businesses are being put up for sale. "The motivation for this is a mix of: stopping farmers (age), frustrations about the weather, problems with labor and the awareness that selling at a reasonable milk price is better than waiting for the milk price to come under pressure."

More interest in arable farming
Despite the fact that many companies were put up for sale, 'only' 5 were sold. This at below average prices. The median sales price per dairy farm per hectare was 40.012 New Zealand dollars.

In contrast to the misery in the sale of dairy farms, there is an increased interest in arable farms. The median here is 58.000 New Zealand dollars per hectare. 

1 New Zealand dollar = €0,5815

Herman van den Pol

Herma van den Pol has been with us since 2011 Boerenbusiness and has developed over the years into a market expert Milk & Feed. In addition, she can be seen weekly in the market flash about the dairy market.

h.vandenpol@boerenbusiness. Nl

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