President says farmers greener than they think
Federated Farmers provincial president Mark Adams muses on his term of office and shares his thoughts with Pat Deavoll.
South Canterbury sheep and beef farmer Mark Adams has been the provincial Federated Farmers president for the district for almost three years.
His face and opinions are commonplace in online news and the Canterbury farming mags. He farms just north of Fairlie amongst a pleasant, fertile and rolling landscape. In the winter the local ski fields form a snowy backdrop to the farm.
Adams’ term of office with the Feds comes to a close in April. Reflecting on the past three years, he says representing farmers in the district has been satisfying. But there’s been a lot to get his head around.’’There are three major themes I’ve found myself involved in. These are health and safety, the environment, and mental health. And of course, M.bovis at the tail end.’’
Farming has come to a point with health and safety where it can’t deny the statistics, he says. WorkSafe and ACC are data-rich, they have the numbers, and the industry can’t hide from them. ‘‘We are an industry needing to shift its attitude towards health and safety. It’s a matter of creating a culture amongst farmers of valuing their team [staff], their family and themselves. I think farmers are aggrieved at some of the prescriptive rules forced on them, but you can’t deny that we need to shift.’’
Federated Farmers’ role has been to encourage farmers to embrace the new health and safety rules, Adams says. But also to engage with regulators to ensure the regulations put in place are fit for purpose and will achieve the desired outcome. Yes, it’s working, he says. There are more farmers wearing helmets on quad bikes; more farmers giving new staff an induction onto their property. ‘‘They are finding this a powerful way of getting a new worker up and running quickly. I’m also hearing about farmers giving staff permission to take a step back and think about [risky] situations before they charge.’’
Adams thinks the latest elections highlighted the environment as central to New Zealand’s beliefs as a nation. The environment is not ‘‘left of the left ‘‘ in New Zealand, he says. And to see environmental awareness growing amongst the rural community is a paradigm shift. Farmers are greener than they think.
‘‘It’s huge. I still don’t think we have fully realised just what’s unfolding here. For example, ECan [Environment Canterbury] has broken Canterbury into catchment groups, and the power of these and the change that will come once farmers feel fully connected to their catchment is potentially massive. That’s why it’s a smart model ECan have introduced to us. We are the first generation that’s had to consider how our farms and farm management affect our waterways. I see this generation of farmers as taking ownership of 160 years of the previous behaviour,’’ Adams says.
One of the trade-offs is that farmers have the right to the best science and to be able to work within realistic time frames. But the public needs to have realistic expectations of the time it’s going to take to address the issues, he says. Delayed nutrients are working through the soil profile creating a ‘‘lag effect.’’ While there is evidence of changes in farm management and farmer behaviour, there is still a legacy of previous decision-making working through that may taint what is now muchimproved stewardship.
One of Adams concerns is that the statistics don’t reflect the positive environmental work already done by farmers. These undermine the trust of the public, he says. But a lot of good work is going on that will be reflected in the data over time. ‘‘The community is asking good questions about how seriously farmers are taking the environment, and they have every right to ask them. There is a community expectation that farmers are taking the issue seriously and if farmers don’t engage the community will remove their social licence.’’
So do farmers need a social licence to farm? Adams believes yes. We live with a generation that is educated and better informed, and it has high expectations of farmers, he says. Plus this generation is our customer.
With mental health, we have a ‘‘tiger by the tail,’’ he says. ‘‘The suicide stats in rural New Zealand aren’t good. Any suicide is a tragedy for a family but also for tight-knit rural communities. We are leaning heavily on our Rural Support Trusts to engage in mental health. These were designed for adverse events. But now they are moving into this mental health space, and I think we need to make sure they are adequately resourced and upskilled.’’
So where are New Zealand’s farmers situated at the moment? Adams thinks sheep and beef farmers are a resilient group of people and their resilience is being rewarded with good product prices. Meat prices are strong.
The only disappointment is wool. Crossbred wool prices are just abysmal, he says.
‘‘Red meat farmers are experiencing prices that are at the top end and are starting to reflect what they need to run a sustainable business. It goes back to the 1980s when we had too many sheep, and it’s taken this long for supply and demand to align. It’s starting to come into our favour.’’
Dairy prices are stable but the industry got a fright after several poor seasons and accumulated debt, Adams says. And now it is working through that. Dairy farmers are wary of the debtloading the industry is carrying.
Adams says he can’t predict the future of farming. Who can? But it belongs to those who are good at what they do.
If farmers focus on the areas of business they can control, they give themselves the best chance for whatever the future holds.
Federated Farmers’ core purpose is advocacy and policy, he says.
‘‘It’s an essential function that the federation plays. But to function, it needs more members, because advocacy is expensive. Because of farm amalgamation, retirements and a disconnect between farmers and the important part advocacy plays. You continuously have to convey your purpose to a new generation of farmers. And the role of my successor is to act as a conduit from grassroots farming through to Wellington [about] what it is that farmers need. And to convey back to the farmers how the world is changing and what that means for our industry.’’
And the world is changing, he says. It’s connected, well informed and New Zealand farmers are marketing their products to high-end markets that have high expectations. They are demanding that the food they eat is of high specification and safe. If farmers are going to maintain these standards they must withstand scrutiny, he says.
Is New Zealand doing enough? Adams thinks New Zealand has been great at sales but poor at marketing.
But resources are going into marketing now that haven’t been previously allocated, he says.
Adams’s term of office finishes in April. The succession is in good hands, he says.
The community is asking good questions about how seriously farmers are taking the environment, and they have every right to ask them.
Mark Adams