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Farmers helping farmers succeed

At BDO, we genuinely care about seeing your farm succeed. Our agribusiness advisers have specialist farming qualifications and an extensive knowledge of farm systems, as well as broad expertise across accounting, tax and business advisory, so that together, we can make sure your agribusiness is operating efficiently, sustainably and profitably, no matter what challenges come your way.

We work with an extensive range of agribusiness clients drawn from an assorted cross-section of agriculture including cropping, livestock, dairying, horticulture, forestry (including ETS legislation requirements), aquaculture, meat and food processing, we well as clients in related agricultural service industries. We act for a variety of different farm owners including small and large family farms, major corporate owners, Māori Incorporations, and numerous absentee owners.

Our specialist agribusiness team live and operate in the same community as you. We’re passionate about promoting wellbeing in the agricultural industry, and are key sponsors of the Rural Support Trust, as well as a number of local wellbeing initiatives. We pride ourselves on our industry advocacy – our team’s extensive expertise is recognised by government and other industry bodies, with many of our advisers regularly consulted on legislation and other proposed changes affecting the agri sector.

What our clients say

"Frazer Weir and the team restructured our entire portfolio which made us far more tax efficient. We have been extremely impressed by the level of expertise and support we have received from the entire BDO support team. They are always looking for IT efficiencies and encourage growth in this area. Their proactive approach to every hurdle is welcomed by our team."

John Nicholls
Rylib Group – Agriculture portfolio management improving tax efficiency

We can help you find success in your farm in a number of ways:

Keeping taxes to a minimum is vital for any business, especially for farms which often operate with huge sums of capital. Our tax knowledge combined with our extensive understanding of different farming systems means we will help your agribusiness become as tax efficient as possible, drawing up tax plans that can reduce and defer your farm business taxes. Our tax advisers will also regularly monitor your farm’s tax strategy to help you take advantage of any legislative changes.

There are so many variables involved in running a farm, and cash flow can sometimes be tricky to keep on top of. Our agribusiness advisers will help you manage your cash flow and finances, using our strong relationships with the banks and other lending institutions to ensure your loans and accounting settings are all serving your business well. Our professionals can help you to formulate funding proposals and develop interest rate risk management strategies as well as more detailed financial information you may need.

Our advisers have worked in agricultural succession planning for many years - we understand the whole succession planning journey and take the time to really get to know you as individuals to make sure everyone’s wishes are being taken into account. We know open communication is key and we’ll combine this with our accounting, finance and tax expertise to ensure you are handing on a viable, sustainable farming business when the time comes.

Our agribusiness team has specialist knowledge in farming sustainability, and like you, we genuinely care about making your farm as sustainable as possible, not just to meet ever more complex regulations, but because the longevity of your business and the land matters. We offer a bespoke agricultural sustainability service that covers financial transformation to support sustainability, ETS consulting, farm-level emissions calculation and reduction, and bespoke reporting and consulting services. Many of our agribusiness team have been consulted by government on various aspects of farming sustainability and are leaders in their field.

You want to focus on what matters – your farm. Payroll and other business administration is time consuming, especially when you have so many other aspects of your business to consider. Our agribusiness advisers can take care of all of your payroll, bookkeeping and accounting, leaving you more headspace for the things that matter. We also provide technical support for clients' tax software updates to ensure deadlines are met.

Agritech is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Meanwhile there are numerous basic technology and apps to help take some of your farm’s administrative burden away from you. We’ll advise you on your farm IT systems to help ensure your farm is running as efficiently as possible – and we can also take over many administrative functions from you.

Who will benefit from our specialist agribusiness services?

We act for a huge variety of different agribusinesses including small and large family farms, major corporate owners, Māori incorporations, trusts and numerous absentee owners. We have long-standing relationships with farmers, industry bodies and stakeholders, and work with farmers across the major agricultural sectors, including dairy, sheep, beef, forestry and viticulture.

No matter what you need help with, or if you even just want to run something by an independent adviser, our agribusiness team can help. Learn more about what we can do for your agribusiness by getting in touch with your local adviser today.

For more information on BDO's specific offerings at each office, please visit their agribusiness location page:

Sponsorships

At BDO, we know that mental health is a key issue in our rural communities. That's why we're proud to come on board as a key sponsor of the Rural Support Trust's new Time Out Tour - a series of local community gatherings across New Zealand being fronted by TV presenter turned sheep and beef farmer, Matt Chisholm. Chisholm has shared openly about his mental health struggles. Through the tour, he will talk about his personal experiences and how he found a way through. Learn more about the Time Out Tour here.

man on farm in New Zealand

BDO Business Wellbeing Index - Agribusiness

The agribusiness sector has experienced considerable hardship in recent years, but leaders are now reporting improved business performance sentiment, based on the findings in our recent survey in 2024.

View Agribusiness sector insights

Agribusiness Insights

Our National Agribusiness sector leader

Charles Rau | BDO Gisborne

Charles Rau

National Agribusiness Sector Leader, Advisory & Tax Partner