Changing of the guard: Stepping up the succession conversation in New Zealand farming

This white paper examines the scale, complexity, and urgency of farm succession in New Zealand, as the primary sector faces its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of ownership and control. Prepared by Rabobank New Zealand, the report combines quantitative analysis with qualitative case studies to explore how farming businesses are navigating succession in a changing economic, regulatory, and demographic environment.

The report reframes succession not as a single event, but as a long-term, deeply personal process that increasingly involves new ownership structures, hybrid models, and professionalised governance arrangements.

Report at a glance

• Published by: Rabobank New Zealand

• Date: 2025

• Focus: Farm succession, ownership transition, intergenerational wealth transfer

• Geographic scope: New Zealand

• Format: Sector white paper with quantitative and qualitative analysis (PDF)

Why this report matters

More than half of New Zealand’s farm and orchard owners are expected to reach retirement age within the next decade. Based on current land values, the report estimates that over $150 billion in farming assets will be involved in succession processes, making this the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in New Zealand agriculture’s history.

The report highlights that only one-third of farming businesses currently have a formal succession plan in place. Without earlier and more deliberate planning, the sector faces heightened risks of business disruption, forced sales, consolidation, and loss of continuity for farming families and rural communities.

For policymakers, industry leaders, financiers, and advisors, the report provides a clear evidence base for why succession has become a structural issue rather than a private family matter.

Key themes explored

• Demographic ageing of farm owners and declining entry by younger generations

• Rising land values and capital barriers to farm ownership

• Succession as a staged, long-term process rather than a single transaction

• Emotional and relational dimensions of family business transition

• Growth of hybrid, corporate, and collective ownership structures

• Implications of regulation, climate policy, and land-use change

• Workforce, governance, and “businessification” of farming enterprises

Relevance to cooperative and collective models

While the report focuses on farming broadly, it highlights the growing role of alternative ownership and governance arrangements as families respond to rising scale, capital intensity, and regulatory complexity. Hybrid structures, partnerships, and collective approaches are presented as pragmatic responses that can preserve continuity, spread risk, and enable intergenerational participation where traditional succession pathways are no longer viable.

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