Latest news with #ToddCharteris
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Massive transfer of wealth coming as farmers age
The next decade will see the largest inter-generational transfer of wealth as more than 17,000 farm and orchard owners reach pension age. A recent Rabo Bank report says based on current values that's $150 billion worth of assets to potentially change hands. However the research finds only one in three farmers have a formal succession plan in place. Rabo Bank Chief Executive Todd Charteris says the succession challenge ahead for the agricultural sector is becoming more complex, but must be addressed. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Otago Daily Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
White paper addresses succession challenge
Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris speaks at the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Christchurch last month. PHOTO: SUPPLIED More than $150 billion in farming assets in New Zealand will require a succession process in the next decade, Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris says. Within the next 10 years, agriculture would need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth. More than half of all farm and orchard owners — more than 17,300 farmers and growers — would reach age 65, Mr Charteris said. At current land values, the transition of these farmers' operations represents a conservative estimate of more than $150b in farming assets, which will depend on a successful succession process. Mr Charteris launched a new white paper, "Changing of the guard", at the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Christchurch last month. The findings highlighted the extent of the succession challenge ahead for the sector. "Succession is not a moment in time — it's a process that takes years of planning, conversation and adaptation. "The traditional model of passing the farm to the next generation is under pressure, but there are new and innovative models emerging that can help families stay connected to their land," he said. One in three farmers had a formal succession plan in place. A further 17% had discussed succession with the relevant parties but nothing was documented, leaving exactly 50% who had neither discussed succession nor started a succession plan. Research also finds one-third of farmers intend to pass their farm to their children, yet 39% report having no children seriously interested in farming. "Taking over the family farm involves committing to decades of indebtedness in a sector that is subject to volatility and uncertain returns. It remains a big call for a 20-something and their bank," he said. The paper highlights increasingly prominent succession models which are being adopted to help farming families stay connected to the land. — APL
NZ Herald
25-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Listen to The Country online: 2025 Primary Industries New Zealand Awards winners
Today on The Country radio show, host Jamie Mackay is live from day two at the 2025 Primary Industries New Zealand summit, where he catches up with winners from last night's PINZ awards. He also chatted with Rabobank's chief executive, Todd Charteris, about the bank's latest report on farm succession.
RNZ News
24-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Ageing farm, orchard owners need succession to protect $150bn of assets
Farm succession is a hot topic at the Primary Industries NZ Summit in Ōtautahi. Photo: RNZ/Monique Steele Farm or orchard owners - especially those approaching retirement age - are being urged to prepare for farm succession as a massive transfer of land and wealth looms. A new report by Rabobank, Changing of the Guard showed more than half of New Zealand's approximately 17,320 farm and orchard owners will reach the pension age of 65 in the next decade. It found that based off land values, agriculture and horticulture will need to prepare to manage the largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, with farm assets estimated to be worth $150 billion. Farm succession was a hot topic on day one of the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Ōtautahi on Tuesday, which coincided with the release of the report. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay also spoke to the hundreds of guests, in addition to other industry experts. Rabobank chief executive Todd Charteris told the summit that economic, environmental and emotional were the drivers behind farm succession, including risks of disconnect between generations and the realities of servicing debt. "Succession is not a moment in time - it's a process that takes years of planning, conversation and adaptation," Charteris said. "The traditional model of passing the farm to the next generation is under pressure." The report surveyed 450 farmers and found only a third had a formal succession plan in place. A further half of the respondents had not discussed farm succession nor started a plan, whereas 17 percent had discussed it, it found. It also showed while a third of farmers intended to pass the farm onto their children, 39 percent of them reported having no children seriously interested in farming. Charteris said the findings highlighted the extent of the succession challenge ahead for the agricultural sector. "We also found that the financial obstacles aren't getting any smaller to farm ownership and transferring of that," he said. "But if anything, what we've seen is that may have plateaued over those years." Charteris said there were new and innovative models emerging that could help families stay connected to their land, like a partial sale, turning ownership to iwi or whanau, or engaging private capital. The Templeton family of coastal Southland had undertaken its own farm succession plan, with the sons taking up much of the dairy farming business as fifth-generation. Speaking at a panel discussion in Christchurch, Peter Templeton - also a Nuttfield scholar - said farm succession could be a difficult process, but those interested should be radically transparent with family members. "Succession is a 10 to 15-year process, so start when you've still got some energy left, don't start late," Templeton said. "If you're on a family farm, talk about the farm outside of the individual people. So, 'how does the farm work for the families?' I think is quite a good way of looking at it." Skye Macdonald of 16,000 hectare high country sheep farm Middlehurst Station in Marlborough's Awatere Valley shared the farm workload with her three other siblings, as parents Willy and Sue looked to the future. Macdonald said succession was hard work, but many lessons had been learned along the way. She said keeping the family and station legacy going was crucial. "Succession doesn't really ever stop, does it? It just keeps on going down the down the line and if you work hard and be open about it, just keep going with it," she said. The report also found while a third of farmers intended to pass the farm on to their children, just below 40 percent reported having no children seriously interested in farming. The Primary Industries New Zealand Summit will continue into Wednesday. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Succession planning help
New farm succession planning workshops are in Otago this week. Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris said Rabobank was holding free one-day workshops for farmers about succession planning. The workshops were open to anyone and aimed to provide farmers with an understanding of business transition and succession and to aimed to give confidence to start and progress a succession plan. "We regularly ask our clients about the financial topics they want further information on, and this is one topic that has come up time and time again in the discussions our agri managers have with farmers and growers across the country." The new succession workshop topics include asset transfer, business continuance, intergenerational farm ownership, how to clarify roles and responsibilities, and identifying the next steps to make real progress, Mr Charteris said. Workshops would be held in Alexandra today and Oamaru tomorrow. A workshop was held in Balclutha yesterday. The Otago workshops follow a successful pilot event in Feilding last month. "We had about 25 farmers along to the pilot workshop we ran in Feilding and we had some really positive feedback on this." In addition to new workshops, the bank would launch a report, which examines succession on farm, at the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Christchurch later this month.
