Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Lincoln University Adjunct Professor in Agriscience on the increasing cost of running a farm

The cost of running a farm is surging. 

ANZ's latest Agri Insights report, which used data from more than four thousand farms over five years, found costs across the board were 27% higher than before Covid. 

It was driven largely by increased labour and input costs, such as fertiliser. 

Lincoln University’s Dr Jacqueline Rowarth told Mike Hosking that the farmers who buy retail and sell wholesale are the ones feeling the pinch.  

She says there are some sectors who, although their land may have cost more in the beginning, are getting better returns per hectare, and the gap between the top farmers and the average ones has increased. 

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