Farmers suffer says agents’ president

Press, 20 September 1985, Page 10

Farmers suffer says agents’ president

Farmers in particular have suffered as a result of the Government’s rapid deregulation of the economy, according to Mr Tom Harper, president of the Stock and Station Agents’ Association. In his annual report, Mr Harper said the November budget changed the direction in which the country was travelling and larmers in particular had the rules changed on them over night. “In a brief space of time we have seen the freeing up of the economy in a dramatic manner. Government has set in train a devaluation, the floating of the currency, the deregulation of the financial sector, and the end of price controls.” He pointed to spiralling prices for power, petrol, milk, road charges, rates and rents. “Interest rates have soared to unprecedented heights and inflation is now well into double figures, having reached an annual rate of 16.6 per cent by the middle of the year. “All these changes have taken place at an amazing speed, and there could be danger in this,” he said. Certainly there have been, and will continue to be, repercussions. Mr Harper expressed grave concern over the effects of Government policy on farming. “The Government has suddenly exposed us to market forces but has created

conditions which have eroded our competitive edge.

“The Government’s job is to set in place policies to curb inflation, even if this means a more measured approach to the pace of economic change,” he said. “It is an unfortunate fact that farm property values have been allowed to soar to completely unrealistic levels, and farmers must now restore proper values to farmlands, even though it will cause some hardship.” Farms had to be returned to producing a productive profit, not farming for a loss and relying on inflation to increase the price of land to finance our productive deficits. With the very few recent sales of sheep and cattle hill country properties, it is already evident that prices received, compared to recent Government valuations, are down by 30 to 50 per cent. “If this trend continues, there is no doubt it will be a disaster for many farmers. “Already we see a number of farmers whose equity has been completely eroded and must sell. “There is another group who still have some equity but can only produce a deficit budget. Some of these people are good farmers and we must support them in some way to keep them on the land,” Mr Harper said.