The global recession and falling commodity prices have caused a further fall in confidence among farmers.
A quarterly survey by Rabobank shows 33% of farmers expect the agricultural economy to deteriorate over the coming year, compared with 29% in the last survey.
Investment intentions are still relatively strong, with more than half indicating they would maintain current levels of investment, and a fifth expecting to increase it.
Rabobank senior analyst Hayley Moynihan says farmers were more optimistic about the prospects for their own farms than they were about the rural economy as a whole.
