Changes in Land Use - A Panel Discussion

Borrowers received the first glimmer of much-wanted relief when the Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 0.25% to 5.25% at their meeting on 14th August.

The RBNZ had earlier noted that its estimate of the long-term neutral OCR was 2.75%, so the August cut appears to be the start of a much-needed easing cycle likely to run through to late 2025 or early 2026.

This outlook for a cut of 2.75% from the highs of the past year is great news for borrowers but may require a change of strategy for savers.

Congratulations are in order for yet another of our own. Portfolio Manager Rachel Baker has been added to the tidy list of Nuffield New Zealand Farming Scholars within the MyFarm Investments team.

A third wave of land use change is about to wash through much of rural New Zealand as a combination of economic, demographic and climatic impacts conspire to shift pastoral hill country farming within 10 years.

So says Andrew Watters, founder of MyFarm. Watters said the changes can provide as many opportunities as challenges for farmers, particularly within the lower and central North Island, and he is urging farmers to be curious about what they could gain from them.