In this analysis, the resilience of family farmers is investigated in two hill
country districts of New Zealand (Central Hawkes Bay and Waitomo District) by
following the experiences of a sample of 119 sheep/beef producers through two
snapshots of their circumstances taken three decades apart. The famers and their
spouses were first interviewed in 1984 prior to the removal of state subsidies and
other assistance. In 2012–2013, 94 of the farmers (or their successors) were interviewed
again. During the period under investigation, they had coped with economic
shocks, natural disasters (particularly major droughts) and for some, personal tragedies.
The focus of the study is on the economic viability of the family farms in the
face of a range of hazardous and adverse events, and how their owners (and families)
are adapting and responding to global and local economic and social changes, and the
natural disasters which are a normal backdrop to farming.
