SUMMARY
This report describes the findings of a survey on off-farm income, commissioned by MAF Policy. It covers income earned in the 1992/93 financial year, and includes income from both off-farm employment and off-farm investments. The survey did not cover income earned on-farm from non-agricultural activities, such as farm stays.
The survey shows that working off-farm is common among all farm types. The highest incidence is on kiwifruit orchards, with 65% reporting income from off-farm employment. For other farm types, off-farm employment was reported by 53% of cropping farms, 51% of pipfruit orchards, 46% of dairy farms and 41% of sheep and beef farms.
Apart from kiwifruit orchards, which show a bias towards male partners working off-farm, the rest of the farm types show a relatively even balance between the sexes working off-farm.
Earnings from off-farm work averaged from $15,000-22,000 depending on farm type.
The majority of respondents felt that they did not have to rearrange their on-farm work activities as a result of the off-farm work. For those whose off-farm work necessitated a change in on-farm routine, the main strategies adopted were: hiring more farm labour, working longer hours on-farm, and sharing housework.
The survey also shows quite a high incidence of farms with off-farm investment, ranging from 37% of dairy farms to 70% of cropping properties. The average income from these off-farm investments ranged from $11,000 for dairy properties through to $19,000 for kiwifruit farms.
Combining income from both off-farm work and off-farm investments, 73.2% of all farms sampled reported some source of off-farm income. By farm type, the percentage is 63% for dairy farms, 71% for sheep and beef farms, 87% for pipfruit orchards, 84% for kiwifruit orchards, while 87% of cropping farms had some source of off-farm income. Total off-farm income varied from around $19,000 for dairy and sheep and beef farms, through to around $35,000 for kiwifruit properties.
The most common end use of this off-farm income was as expenditure on household expenses and personal drawings. Next was input into farm working expenses, followed by children's education.
Of all respondents with off-farm income, 47% rated it as important or essential for the household, while 37% rated it as important or essential for the farm business.
The analysis shows that, with respect to the size of property, farms with off-farm work income are significantly smaller than farms without off-farm work income.
For those properties with off-farm income, it was equivalent to 14% of gross farm revenue for dairy farms, 20% for sheep and beef farms, 25% for cropping properties, 45% for pipfruit orchards, and 69% for kiwifruit orchards. As a percentage of "disposable" farm income, off-farm income ranged from an average of 36% for cropping farms to 37% for dairy farms, 65% for sheep and beef farms, 69% for kiwifruit orchards, and 90% for pipfruit orchards.
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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