In November last year, when the bank announced a $60 million fund, it warned that a "lost generation" were turning their backs on agriculture as the current crop of farm owners got older, while the cost of getting on to a farm soared beyond the reach of young investors.
The response to the initiative had been "overwhelming", with about 100 new farmers expected to take up packages - available through ANZ and The National Bank - by the start of the farming year in June, ANZ's commercial and agri managing director Graham Turley said.
North Otago Federated Farmers president Richard Strowger described the initiative as "absolutely brilliant".
People complained about overseas investors buying New Zealand farms, but unless pathways were created to get into farms "how are they [young New Zealanders] supposed to buy them?" he said.
He was supportive of anything that banks could do that would encourage young people "to get in and have a go at running a farm".
Young people tended to drive a bigger profit out of their properties. Intensification of agricultural systems was needed to "get this country out of the doldrums and financial situation", he said.
Since the launch, more than 200 aspiring farmers had attended six start-up workshops, with up to 20 more workshops planned around the country between now and June. Some 55 packages were already approved or in process, meaning new farming careers were already under way, Mr Turley said in a statement.
"Young farmers need capital to buy livestock or for seasonal finance to cover the first months of a milking contract. However, many don't have the security to raise the necessary cash."
With the average age of a New Zealand farmer now topping 50, ANZ analysis suggested in November that the amount of capital required by the next generation to buy a farm had soared to more than $1 million, forcing many to seek other careers.