Farmers president up beat about region

Lake Hawea high-country farmer Richard Burdon doesn't feel depressed about the regional economy.

• Riding out the recession

The president of Federated Farmers Otago feels optimistic because there are diverse opportunities for agriculture around Wanaka and , to a lesser extent, Queenstown; his favourite sports teams are thriving; and the school his kids go to is booming.

"There's a whole lot of things happening that will keep off a recession in Wanaka. When you are fielding the best sports teams, you are hardly holding off a recession," Mr Burdon said when contacted in Dunedin yesterday.

Agriculture is likely to be the solid foundation on which the Queenstown Lakes district can weather the storm of the international recession.

Berl senior economist Dr Ganesh Nana believes an unbalanced reliance on tourism and property development in this area could mean some grim times for the region, although he also says the wider Otago-Southland region should fare better because of its agricultural diversity.

Mr Burdon agreed some farmers in the district might be putting their wallets away for a while, but also pointed out they were already practising diversity and no longer relied on traditional merino, or sheep and beef, operations.

Happily for now, lamb prices have been reaching $140, with a target of $150 not seeming unrealistic.

While cutting farm land into lifestyle blocks was presenting some challenges to agriculture around Queenstown, and superfine wool producers were concerned about low prices, farmers could generally be happy with their efforts, so long as the exchange rate stayed at a level favourable to exports and interest rates remained low, Mr Burdon said.

"There is nothing more exciting than living in Otago . . . Farmers are contributing enormously to New Zealand and they are the ones making New Zealand's economy tick over at the moment," he said.

Mr Burdon's outlook is expansive. Already, the district had new businesses, good technology, and great cafes. Birth rates were booming, schools were adding classrooms and two new primary schools were planned in Wanaka and Frankton.

Many new vineyards were reaching maturity and required processing and there was increasing demand, through the trend towards local farmers' markets, for local produce such as sausages and vegetables.

Those markets created more opportunities for self-sufficiency as well as more intensive horticulture and viticulture, he said.

Greater interaction was occurring between recreationalists and farmers and more farmers were demonstrating a willingness to open up access ("as long as some of those lobby groups back off").

There was also potential for further development in the venison industry.

One of the most important things to do around Tarras and in other parts of Otago was to settle water rights and consents, as historic mining privileges were due to expire, Mr Burdon said.

Water was the most important resource to the region. Farmers were always looking for new technology and greater efficiency and hence the number of new pivots in the area, he said.

Traditionally, dairy cows have been wintered over in the region, but there seemed to beless of that at the moment.

Of huge concern to farmers was news this week the Queenstown Lakes District Council faces a $413 million debt by 2019 unless it drastically prunes its 10-year plan.

"That's totally irresponsible and a massive concern to the farming community, which pays disproportionate rates," he said.

More changes to land use may yet come, but the land was "certainly not suitable for dairy conversion and we don't want that because of the impact on the environment," Mr Burdon said.