\n This is far
\n preferable to the alternative but needs something more.\n <\/p>\n
That something is growth \u2013 otherwise the green shoots that have been welcomed will wither on the vine.<\/p>\n
Ensuring that the economy continues to grow requires ongoing productivity gains.<\/p>\n
Economist Cameron Bagrie is clear in his explanations: \u201cThe agriculture sector is consistently a 2%-per-year productivity story. The problem is that the decade average for the rest of the economy is 0.3%.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agriculture fits with the biological metaphor of green shoots and has been doing its best.<\/p>\n
Remember Covid? Remember post-Covid? Actually, remember pre-Covid?<\/p>\n
Bagrie has the data.<\/p>\n
The question for the country is, how can agriculture do even better?<\/p>\n
Productivity is about output per unit of input, such as hours (labour), or land and buildings (capital).<\/p>\n
Inputs such as fertiliser and seeds assist in increased production per hectare, and new technologies assist in production per hour and per hectare.<\/p>\n
The challenge for New Zealand farmers is that most are already advanced in using the tools that are appropriate for their systems.<\/p>\n
They are also adept at considering where and how they can change their system to be more productive, resilient and economically viable.<\/p>\n
This thinking is behind the upsurge in dairying and land-use change consents in the South Island.<\/p>\n
Arable farmers have been struggling for several years and are now evaluating increased integration with dairy farming.<\/p>\n
In some cases, this will mean more dairy cows, with a consequent decrease in chemical use as grass replaces crops, and a decrease in potential nitrogen leaching from soil organic matter to waterways \u2013 dairying means decreased cultivation of the soil.<\/p>\n
Keeping pasture cover means nitrogen uptake from the soil by plants continues.<\/p>\n
Per hectare, milk production also feeds more people their indispensable amino acids for fewer greenhouse gases than cereals.<\/p>\n
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Dr Jacqueline Rowarth on The Country below:<\/p>\n
In the productivity stakes, the arable farmers wouldn\u2019t be considering a change if they didn\u2019t think dairying would provide a better future for their families.<\/p>\n
Their better future also means increased income for the country with exports, taxes and employment.<\/p>\n
Sense Partners\u2019 report for the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, now over two years old, showed the contribution that dairy employment makes to the regions.<\/p>\n
In 2023, dairying was a third of employment in Waimate, but over 50% of wages.<\/p>\n
For South Taranaki, the 26% employment share equated to a 41% share of wages paid in the district.<\/p>\n
The same is true for the Southland District, where dairy provided 5.4% of jobs and accounted for 28% of wages.<\/p>\n
Regions benefit from dairy farming and processing and the money spreads out.<\/p>\n
Dr Jacqueline Rowarth is Adjunct Professor at Lincoln University, a farmer-elected director on the DairyNZ and Ravensdown boards, and a member of the Scientific Council of the World Farmers’ Organisation.<\/p>\n
More dairy farmers mean more electricians and mechanics, more veterinarians, more supermarket employees, more teachers.<\/p>\n
And the taxes mean more money for the Government to spend on infrastructure, health, education and whatever else is needed by society.<\/p>\n
Mostly, what is \u201cneeded\u201d is thought to be a decrease in the cost of living.<\/p>\n
Food is often blamed, but the latest data from StatsNZ show that the largest contributors to the annual inflation rate were \u201chousing and household utilities\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the 12 months to the December 2025 quarter, electricity was up 12.2% and local authority rates and payments were up 8.8%.<\/p>\n
Food did contribute and is fourth and sixth on Stats NZ\u2019s contributor list, with overseas accommodation fifth.<\/p>\n
Productivity gains on the land can assist with costs of production, but farmers and growers do not set the price consumers pay.<\/p>\n
Productivity gains on the land will, however, assist with increasing incomes and affordability of living, including the holidays that have been enjoyed around the country and world during recent months.<\/p>\n
The Government has been working to enable productivity gains by reducing paperwork in councils (local government reorganisation) and in businesses (which include those of farmers and growers).<\/p>\n
The overall goal of sustainability has not changed, but the path to growth has.<\/p>\n
New Zealand farmers have a track record of evaluating land-use change successfully, not just with dairying (delicious high-quality protein), but also kiwifruit (delicious and full of vitamins but not protein) and grapes for wine (simply delicious).<\/p>\n
M\u0101nuka honey and goat and sheep milk, all with health promotion, have been somewhat boom and bust, showing the fickleness of the \u201chealth\u201d attraction.<\/p>\n
Buffalo, alpaca and ostriches have mostly faded from being \u201cthe next-best thing in production\u201d into \u201can interesting activity to have tried\u201d (except for a few enthusiasts still enjoying what they are doing and finding a market for their niche product).<\/p>\n
Productivity growth means aligning what we can produce with what people overseas want to eat.<\/p>\n
High-quality protein, produced sustainably, appears to be the answer.<\/p>\n
New Zealand farmers are already answering the call.<\/p>\n