Wayne Langford: Federated Farmers President on the surge in farmer confidence

Federated Farmers is crediting the coalition government for a surge in farmer confidence. 

Confidence within the sector has reached its highest level in more than a decade, jumping from a dismal -66% in July last year to 2%. 

Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford told Mike Hosking while the last few years have been tough for farming families, favourable farming rules have seen things turn around. 

He says announcements around emissions pricing, freshwater farm plans, and on-farm costs is helping the sector. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Farmer confidence. Here we goes turned around in a way
that makes you ask what happened there? Latest Fed Farmers
survey has seen it go from minus sixty six to
positive too. They been doing the number since two thousand
and nine. This is the largest one off improvement they
have ever seen. Now the Fed Farmer's President Wayne Langford
as well as Wayne morning.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, morning Mike. A really positive result, isn't it good?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
I mean, is it all the dairy and the milk
and everyone's what's happened?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well, there's a number of factors. Obviously, you know, there's
one side of our business, the income, and that's definitely
gone up. That's a positive result. But there's the other
side of the business, our expenses, and that's that's where
we have really gone to work saying, hey, how can
we get our farmers that confident in what's going on,
how can we get inflash and under control, and how
can we make sure that farmings as easy as possible

(00:46):
so that we can drive our businesses going forward.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
And that's working clearly.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well it is. It's I think the results are showing
it that the work that the government's put in last year,
you know, making some of the announcements they have around
the missions, pricing on farm plans, getting all the time
inflation under control, which was a bee at a starting
to see, you know, comes through in terms of farmer
confidence brilliant.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Are the banks playing ball?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, we've got we've got a QUIRE hearing this morning,
so so we'll see about their one. But then put
the pressure on.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yeah, ye, what would you do to the banks if
you're in charge of.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Them, I'd look after my farmer's first. Farmers are where
they're you know, the backbone's economy that's usually look after first,
and now the rest will come from there.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Is this sustainable? I mean, is this just a moment
in time? The sun has been shining. It's been pretty
good summer over much of the country as well, which
kind of harmed it is this? Are we on the
right track here permanently? You reckon?

Speaker 2 (01:42):
I think if we keep going the way we are
trying to remove the red tapers we've been saying for
quite some time. You know, we're sending our farming businesses
up to be profitable to run the systems that they
need to run, which is which is a low cost
We've got to low input systems in new Zealand. That's
what we're renowned for, and you've got to get regulation
out of the way of that. So that's what we're doing.

(02:04):
What we'll see after that as a massively on effect
to the rest of our communities. And you've got to remember,
the royal community is the second biggest outside of Auckland.
So if we get the royal communities cranking, we get
the country cranking. And that's the way to go.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
You're preaching to the converted way and appreciate it very much.
Waye Lang of the fed Farmer's Prison. I wonder when
Chris Hopkins listens to that weather he thinks, gee, actually,
is that how you do it? Because when he was
running the place, the farmers weren't that happy, and then
all of a sudden he just needed a few tweaks
to some regulation. You need to get the inflation under control,
and these people start to run. You know, this is

(02:40):
billions and billions and billions of dollars into New Zealand.
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