“Mixed seasonal conditions across the country – coupled with economic pressures – have seen the nation’s farm sector confidence take a U-turn in the latest quarter, declining after a resurgence in optimism at the start of the year.

The quarter two Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, released today, found sentiment among the country’s agricultural producers had dipped into ‘negative territory’ – with fewer farmers expecting a better year ahead than those holding a negative outlook.

Farmers in the west and south of the country had struggled through a very dry autumn, with many having worryingly late – or in some cases no – ‘autumn break’ for the start of winter cropping, although rainfall was much more plentiful in Queensland and many parts of New South Wales.

Meanwhile, the impact of economic pressures on farm business ‘bottom lines’ was also found to be an increasing concern, with worries cited about softer commodity prices in some sectors and inflationary pressures being felt in the form of high input costs.”