The ANZ Bank is warning of a ‘lost generation’ of Kiwis who are turning their backs on agriculture, as the cost of getting onto a farm ‘soars beyond the reach of young investors.

The average age of a New Zealand farmer now tops 50 and the bank says its analysis has revealed that the capital needed to buy a farm has soared to over $1million for a deposit on a dairy farm, and at least $1.5-2 million for the first sheep or beef farm.

Announcing a new $60 million lending package to help new farmers start their first business, Graham Turley, ANZ’s New Zealand Managing Director of Commercial and Agri,  said it’s never easy to get onto your own farm, and it’s not getting any easier.

Mr Turley says the bank has been supporting farmers in New Zealand for 170 years and it wants to continue doing that.

The new package builds on the bank’s backing of the Young Farmer Competition and Fieldays.