There will be winners and losers from the present global credit crisis. But how it impacts on farmers will depend more on the strength of their balance sheet and less on external factors such as the exchange rate or the dairy payout, Rabobank NZ general manager Ben Russell said. Mr Russell told about 200 southern dairy farmers at the launch of the global dairy report in Invercargill reports the Southland Times, that the current credit crisis was the worst since the Great Depression of the early 1920s. Mr Russell said there would be "far fewer" farm sales and farmers who relied on achieving capital gains in land would be disappointed as moderate price drops were expected. "You don't want to be in the business of selling property," he said. However, farmers with strong balance sheets would have an opportunity to grow their business, he said. "There will be weaker sellers out there," he said. Mr Russell said Rabobank "” which has 23% of the NZ sheep and beef debt market and a substantial slice of the dairy market "” was actively looking for new business. "We will lend to well capitalised farmers that are good managers, but that doesn't mean we won't do tight deals. But we want farmers who can service their interest," he said.
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