Family farms are not yet a thing of the past, according to Lincoln University farm management researchers.
Research by senior lecturer Dr Kevin Old and research fellow Dr Peter Nuthall shows the majority of farms in New Zealand are owned by families.
''If you believe all that you read, you would get the impression New Zealand farming is going corporate,'' Dr Nuthall said. ''But, while it is true that some corporate or quasi-corporate family arrangements exist, by far the majority of farms are simple family affairs.''
New Zealand has historically had an orientation towards the family farm: ownership systems were simple, and most farms kept one or two people fully occupied. Likewise, objectives were orientated towards farming ''as a way of life''.
The research aimed at ascertaining whether this traditional model had changed and to what degree. It found that while there was a change in the number of farms each farmer had an interest in, nearly 60% of farmers were involved with only one farm.
The average across all farm types was 1.75 farms per farmer. This number was increasing largely due to the growth in dairying, with some farmers holding an interest in more than seven farms.
The researchers found that family ownership systems were such that the farmers themselves made most of the decisions. Indeed, the farmers reported they were the main decision-maker on 71% of the farms, although they consulted other family members before acting. It was suspected this had changed over the years.
Farmers on properties with a net annual profit of less than $50,000 listed ''minimising pollution'', ''improving the condition of the property'' and ''ensuring employees enjoy their job'' as more important objectives than ''expanding the business'' or ''making a comfortable living''.
Dr Old and Dr Nuthall said the prioritised objectives of less profitable farmers might reflect a mind-set which largely dismissed the idea of achieving larger returns or expanding the business on grounds this was essentially unobtainable.
Job satisfaction or meaning came from notions of environmental stewardship or quality of life. More profitable farms (with a net annual profit of $100,000-$150,000) chose ''it is important to make a comfortable living'' at the top of the list, followed by ''minimise pollution'' and ''ensuring employees enjoy their job''.
Of great surprise to the researchers was the objective ''it is important to pass the farm to family'' being placed at the bottom of the list as the lowest-ranked objective.
The research consisted of two surveys which covered the entire country and all farm types. One survey was carried out in 2006 (with more than 700 replies analysed), while the other was conducted last year and involved more than 2000 farmers, from which a response rate of 36% (805 farms) was achieved.
The average number of people working on the farms had also increased, from 2.05 in 2006 to 2.76 last year, with biggest increases in dairying.
The South Island in particular had seen a notable increase in the average farm size, which had gone some way to contribute to the fact that 3.2% of farms (all dairy operations) had eight or more people working on them.
Across all farm types, 25% were run by a single person. Farms with two people made up 41%, with three-person farms 13.5%. Sheep farms found it easier to secure sufficient labour than dairy farms.