ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the impact on farming in New Zealand of a major shift in policy in the mid-1980s, and discusses the key features of the mainstay of farming and the rural community, the family farm. It focuses on the most popular options available to facilitate succession, and new entrants. The chapter draws on a number of sources including work undertaken by the author during a study, as Nuffield Scholar, entitled Family business continuance: a global perspective', and ongoing consultancy experience as family business strategy consultant on issues of farm succession in New Zealand. Farming in New Zealand is characterised by the prevalence of family owned and operated farms, at the mercy of the international market and therefore the exchange rate, which dictate to a large extent the level of farm incomes in the country. Equity partnerships are an increasingly popular response to the trend towards larger farms and the rising cost of land.
