Increasing costs affect lifestylers
The joy of life in a rural community comes at an ever-increasing cost, and the fuel bill is the most dramatic example of rising bills, writes Gerhard Uys.
The price of fuel and other input costs is having a direct impact on rural communities and those trying to make an additional income from a lifestyle block, says one South Auckland lifestyler.
Karaka lifestyle block owner Stuart Barnett, who runs livestock on about 5 hectares, says the price of fuel, in particular, has become a challenge.
Barnett had a daily commute of about 45 minutes to work from his Karaka property into Penrose.
‘‘It is remarkable how the price of fuel has increased, even over the past week. There has been a constant increase over the past 18 months. It seems to have started with the introduction of the new regional fuel tax,’’ he says.
Barnett, who with his wife Jennifer and children Isabella and Oliver, have been on the lifestyle block for 13 years, says fuel costs are now becoming a considerable part of their weekly budget.
He recently bought 150 bales of hay to help feed his six head of cattle and six sheep through winter. A bale of hay used to cost him between $5 and $6, depending on the season, but could now cost between $10 and $20.
‘‘Prices have gone up over the past weeks. No-one is being predatory. It’s just a flow-on effect. The contractor that cuts the hay has increased their
prices because they have increasing fuel, wage and operating costs.’’
Barnett says many neighbours who are also on lifestyle blocks are now leasing paddocks as they faced with increasing costs, or are simply tired of ongoing calculations of whether the cost of running livestock is sustainable.
‘‘The practical aspects of being a hobby farmer have become hard.’’
But the lifestyle is a form of relaxation for him and his family.
‘‘It is an opportunity to exercise my mind in a different way, I’m riding a tractor, mowing lawns, moving animals, fixing things animals break, it tests your brain. The opportunities we have had in the community are priceless. The children attend ag days or hand rear lambs.’’
He believes the costs to make such investments, especially for young working couples, have increased drastically with the increases in land cost being artificial.
A contributing factor was that parcels of land in Karaka and Pukekohe were being sold for enormous prices to developers to provide sustainable houses or subdivisions.
Lifestyle or farm-type operating costs like drench had increased over the past two years.
‘‘Such costs are tagged as being the result of supply chain issues, or because more raw ingredients are imported. Prices have gone up but none at the same rate as fuel,’’ he said.
ANZ agriculture economist Susan Kilsby earlier said that lifestyle block owners were often exposed to higher costs than farmers when buying inputs for livestock or horticulture production, as a certain amount of scale was needed to justify infrastructure spending. This often meant groups of lifestyle block owners had to band together to balance costs or had to find an investor.
Inputs were often aimed at large producers. Drench packs for livestock often came in large quantities, meaning a lifestyler pays for something they won’t fully use, Kilsby said.