Entrepreneurship in New Zealand Farming

Background
Ages and education of the farm adults
Children
What sorts of farms were studied?
The alternative enterprises

The study

Sixty farmers with alternative enterprises were identified and interviewed in depth. Information from these interviews was analysed and a summary of results sent to respondents, some of whom took part in small feedback meetings to discuss the findings before the final report was prepared. The approach was therefore largely qualitative, to obtain a detailed understanding about a range of farms with alternative enterprises. It was not a random sample.

A technical report on the research has been prepared (MAF Policy Technical Paper 97/7). ‘This summary report has been written to provide the main results, conclusions and ‘policy’ implications to a wide audience of the farming community, rural groups and public agencies working with entrepreneurs among the farm community, or developing policy that impacts on the farm and rural communities. A facilitation programme has also been established as part of the project. It includes distribution of the findings from the study to the rural community. Two workshops have been presented (in Palmerston North and Ashburton) to explore the results of the research in more detail, especially policy and delivery issues, with relevant agencies and groups. Farm entrepreneurs, representatives from industry sectors, local government and training agencies were invited to participate in the workshops. Outcomes from the workshops have been included in this summary report, particularly in the conclusions.

Background

Family farms go through a cyclical process of succession, usually marked by a slow process of acquiring full ownership, development of farm and other assets, and then a gradual withdrawal from the business in favour of the next generation. This farm cycle is parallelled by the family cycle of marriage, child rearing, preparation for retirement, and retirement.

Ages and education of the farm adults

Families with alternative enterprises tend to be well into their farm and family cycles, with the average age of men in this study being 47.5 years and women 45.4 years. The women had stayed longest at school with almost a third of them having five years of secondary education. Half the men were educated beyond school certificate compared with nearly three quarters of the women. The men and women from farms with alternative enterprises who were interviewed in this study have relatively high levels of tertiary qualifications, compared to the national average for farmers.

Children

The families in the study averaged two children per household. Their ages ranged from one to forty-one years with 61% of them being in the 15-29 age group. Nearly half of the families had children who were either attending or had attended boarding school, mainly at the secondary level. A further 22% of the families had children in tertiary education. Therefore the families tended to be at a stage where they were, or had recently, faced educational costs. Most children performed tasks on the farm or in the house. Three-quarters received some form of payment for their labour, either direct wages, pocket money, or assistance with educational costs like university fees. Of adult children in careers, about a third were working in farm related occupations.

What sorts of farms were studied?

Respondents with non-agricultural enterprises from the regions of Mid Canterbury, North Canterbury and the Manawatu/Wairarapa were invited to participate in the research. Twenty farm families from each region took part in the personal interviews.

Types of farm

The farms in the study were not unusual. They were predominately either sheep and beef or mixed cropping and livestock farms. Six had deer and another four farms had diversified into forestry. There were three dairy farms. The farms were generally medium sized¹. They were run predominately by partnerships, with some trusts and companies, although the composition of the ownership was sometimes very complex. Overall these farms reflect the family pattern of ownership which is characteristic of traditional farming activities, with men predominating as the major operators.

Farm development

The study revealed differences in the earlier and later phases of farm development. Early development was characterised by considerable inputs of labour and capital, fencing, planting shelter belts and scrub cutting. In the later phase the emphasis was on consolidation, maintenance and renewal of earlier work with frequent mention of new farm buildings, including new farm houses.

Paid farm work and household work

Only about a quarter of the farms employed either paid full-time or part-time labour, preferring some seasonal, casual and contractor work. Most of the waged work performed on the farms continues to be performed by men. Seventeen households in the study employed waged labour, mostly either part-time or casual labour. Many used unwaged family labour, which was recompensed in ways such as free board, pocket money, meat, allowances, petrol and payment of tertiary education fees.

Farm history

The great majority of respondents reported that their families have been farming for at least two generations. Moreover a third of the men and quarter of the women were third generation farmers. Just under 20% of the women and just over a third of the men reported a four to six generation history in farming.

The alternative enterprises

The research has shown that farmers are undertaking a wide variety of enterprises on farms across a wide range of sectors. The survey data and an analysis of enterprises from public literature showed that the following were represented: