The farmers and producers we see succeeding aren’t chasing these in isolation; they’re treating them as two sides of the same coin. Productivity is the accelerator, and resilience is the steering wheel. One drives growth, while the other ensures that growth lasts.

What came through in conversations I had at Fieldays was that farmers increasingly have more choices. Strong commodity prices, improving confidence, record export receipts and the cash injection from the Fonterra consumer brands sale mean that many businesses are now operating from a rare position of strength, and strength creates the best conditions for transformation.

It’s often no longer a question of trade-offs between essentials, but where to deploy capital for the greatest long-term returns – whether that’s investing, innovating or diversifying. It’s great to see more investment both on-farm and beyond the farm gate, as farmers look to invest in on-farm enhancements, while baking in business resilience, so they are less exposed to volatility of pricing cycles, climate events or input costs.

Strong seasons and markets don’t last forever, which is why the smartest investments improve performance today, while strengthening a business for what comes next.

The Government’s Land Use Flexibility package and supporting initiatives such as the Livestock Innovation Farming Transformation (LIFT) programme launched at Fieldays send a clear signal: lifting productivity, resilience and export value is not simply an ambition for the food and fibre sector, it’s a national priority.

This focus from Government is no surprise – rural communities deliver an outsized share of the country’s earnings. The food and fibre sector export revenue is expected to rise 6% to $64.3 billion.

Kiwi innovation shows what’s possible. Companies like Halter are built on improving on-farm productivity and animal health in new ways and are great examples of the financial opportunities that exist from thinking differently.

Many organisations have a role to play in accelerating this shift, from government, to industry and banks. For ASB, this isn’t a shift we’re observing from the sidelines; we’re adopting the same innovative mindset through initiatives like Every Hectare Matters, ASB Smart Solar and partnerships across the sector – all focused on backing farmers to turn opportunity into action.

The primary sector is at its best when we work together. Our farmers don’t compete with each other; they compete with the rest of the world. That makes collaboration across the value chain and industry not just beneficial, but essential.

ASB has made a conscious decision to support the whole food and fibre sector, not just growers and producers. Our partnership with Wool Impact is focused on supporting productivity-focused research and development that can help unlock greater value from New Zealand wool and contribute to the long-term future of the fibre. Our partnership with Prism Earth has brought an innovative solar tool to farmers to take the guesswork out of energy investment, and our Every Hectare Matters panel of approved consultants continues to grow and help farmers identify new opportunities to improve land-use. The same spirit of collaboration is evident through initiatives such as AgriZero, where government, industry and the agricultural sector are working together to accelerate the development and commercialisation of vaccines and other emissions-reduction tools.

Programmes and partnerships that build long-term resilience and productivity need broader backing from more of the finance sector, if we are to fully unlock the opportunities in front of us.

The biggest risk for rural New Zealand isn’t adversity, it’s complacency. The challenge now is to treat today’s strength not as a finish line, but as a platform for the next phase of growth – setting our sights on building a sector that leads instead of just competing.

Farmers have always just tried to make their businesses better, through all economic cycles. At its core, that’s what productivity is. Many businesses across New Zealand share this mindset already – the opportunity in front of us is to build on it, learn from one another and accelerate progress across the wider economy.

The choices we make now will shape not only the future of farming, but the future prosperity of Aotearoa.

ASB is a sponsor of the Herald’s Agribusiness and Trade report. For more information on ASB’s involvement in the food and fibre industry, visit asb.co.nz/food-and-fibre.

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