Resources
Newsletters, benchmarks and farm data
Free quarterly insight on farm benchmarking, financial planning and tax.
Why we publish
Farm accounting is not like other business accounting
There are multiple factors — many unpredictable and uncontrollable — that directly impact how profitable a farm is. Our accountants compile a newsletter quarterly which is available to download at no charge.
If you are a livestock, dairy or crop farmer, you will find the information in our newsletters directly useful to your business.
Benchmarking
Farm statistical survey
Results from our farm statistical survey for the year ended 30 June 2021. Historical survey PDFs are available in the archive.
The 2021 year again saw the Dairy sector with the highest net profits — the same result for four of the past five years. Profits increased in only two farm types, driven by increased payout and lower debt servicing (Dairy) and better margins on winter lambs (Intensive Crop).
Significant decreases in revenue rather than increased costs have driven the operating surplus down for both Downlands Livestock and Hill & High-Country farms.
The overall average payout for 2021 recorded an increase on the previous year of 9c per kilogram of milk solids — the second highest average payout recorded.
Lambing percentages
The Downlands farms recorded a decrease in lambing percentages, reflecting significant animal health issues experienced by some clients in the survey. Properties in North Otago and Marlborough had poorer lambing compared with those in Canterbury.
| Farm type | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intensive Crop | 133.4% | 126.3% | 107.7% | 124.6% | 112.6% | 139.3% |
| Downlands Livestock | 125.9% | 135.5% | 133.0% | 142.9% | 141.1% | 122.9% |
| Flatland Livestock | 125.2% | 131.9% | 115.2% | 129.1% | 125.3% | 132.6% |
| Hill & High-Country | 105.0% | 110.6% | 112.5% | 116.9% | 115.4% | 116.4% |
Average sale values — lambs
The 2021 year saw the lowest lamb prices since 2017 due to the influence of drought.
| Farm type | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intensive Crop | $101.18 | $97.43 | $147.89 | $152.67 | $150.70 | $141.00 |
| Downlands Livestock | $77.66 | $91.29 | $119.50 | $120.43 | $118.67 | $114.20 |
| Flatland Livestock | $91.16 | $95.75 | $119.87 | $129.20 | $122.64 | $109.86 |
| Hill & High-Country | $67.75 | $80.18 | $98.91 | $109.36 | $108.27 | $95.73 |
Interest & rent as % of T.G.F.P.
This statistic stayed relatively the same as the previous year across all farm types except Flatland Livestock, which recorded a marked increase due to a considerable increase in debt for capital projects undertaken by two larger farms in the survey.
| Farm type | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intensive Crop | 15% | 17% | 18% | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Downlands Livestock | 14% | 19% | 13% | 11% | 12% | 11% |
| Flatland Livestock | 24% | 24% | 20% | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Hill & High-Country | 15% | 15% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 14% |
| Dairy Factory Supply | 28% | 23% | 20% | 20% | 16% | 15% |
Glossary
- T.G.F.P.
- Total Gross Farm Profit
- C.F.W.E.
- Cash Farm Working Expenses
- F.S.V.
- Fair Sale Value
- T.F.C.
- Total Farm Capital
- S.U.
- Stock Unit
Documents
Client documents
Newsletters
Quarterly newsletters
- Newsletter — September 20231 Sep 2023
- Newsletter — May 20231 May 2023
- Newsletter — August 20221 Aug 2022
- Newsletter — September 20211 Sep 2021
- Newsletter — June 20211 Jun 2021
- Newsletter — March 20211 Mar 2021