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Source: NZPA / Rob Tucker -
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The country's rural sector is bucking the trend of economic bad news with an upbeat message on Sunday morning.
The latest figures of a rolling analysis of commodity prices over the past 10 years shows prices paid for sheep and deer meat are at a record high.
Beef prices are also up, at their second highest point in a decade, and the dairy payout from Fonterra is the second highest ever.
Meanwhile, as urban house prices slump, there is no correlating let up in the rural market.
Real Estate outfit Bayleys Canterbury says there is plenty of demand for quality farm land at the moment, despite economic uncertainty.
Agent Bill Whalan says the medium to long term outlook for agriculture is probably the best it's been since the fifties, as high prices from beef and lamb re-ignite the market.
He says larger farms are harder to sell, but that is mostly because they are more difficult to fund.
However, the largest farm sold before Christmas was worth $3.25 million.
The good news comes despite complaints by Federated Farmers and other lobby groups on Friday that they were being "gouged" by "profiteering" banks who were not passing on the full benefit of the Reserve Bank's interest rate cuts.
