Farmer confidence down

Not surprisingly, farmer confidence has slumped as concerns about global financial markets and flagging commodity prices bite.

The latest quarterly Rabobank/Nielsen Rural Confidence survey, released today, showed more farmers now expect conditions to worsen than to improve.

The survey conducted across New Zealand last month showed 29 per cent of farmers expect the agricultural economy to worsen in the next 12 months, compared with 7 per cent in the previous quarter.