Survey of New Zealand farmer intentions and opinions, October-December, 1982

This is the fifth major survey of New Zealand Farmer Intentions and Opinions undertaken. All were aimed at providing agricultural policy makers and those in the agri-business sector in New Zealand with better data on which they could formulate policies and plans. The survey not only attempted to 'sound out' farmers on their development plans, etc. but endeavoured to pursue enquiries relating to financial matters, in the hope that some important data on farmer indebtedness, etc. could be secured to fill in gaps in our information on the capital and debt structure of New Zealand farms. A stratified random sample of just over 3,000 dairy, sheep-beef and arable farmers was drawn by the Department of Statistics from an up-to-date list of farmers classified according to the New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. Farms below 20 hectares were eliminated and the total sample represented about seven percent of the estimated 45,000 full-time farmers in New Zealand