News round-up

Rural Property Trust shrinks
New Zealand Rural Property Trust made a half-year operating loss of $1.6 million and indicated the value of its farm properties may have fallen by around $21 million and $23.5 million.

Major factors in operating losses were a 22% fall in milk income as dairy processor Fonterra cut its advance payments, plus a sharp rise in costs of fertilizer and supplementary feed.

Total milk payments fell to $1.68 million from $2.15 million. Livestock revenue rose to $476,000 from $299,000, but farm expenses jumped to $2.3 million from $1.45 million.

Chief executive Brian Burrough said the key issue is the tight cash flow. “We just have to hunker down and make sure our farms are operating as well as they can. It’s all about cash flow, not growth at the moment.”