Abstract
Agri-environmental indicators developed in New Zealand to date have focused more on environmental and biophysical indicators than on social and financial measures. However, the latter are increasingly seen as pre-requisites to achieving long-term financial and social viability in agriculture. At present environmental costs are internalised in the financial performance of farm businesses because environmental protection in agriculture is funded almost entirely by farmers. This paper presents a preliminary examination of the perceptions of farmers on the relationship between farm financial resources and the environmental effects of farming. It aims to identify pragmatic and reliable financial indicators of sustainable agriculture at both the farm and the regional or national level. The paper will introduce a range of indicators used to measure the financial health of a business and will evaluate them for their ability to measure the economic sustainability of farm businesses over time. Farmer perceptions of the existence of links between the financial and environmental indicators will be explored through analysis of interview responses. Keywords: financial health, sustainability indicators, environmental indicators, financial indicators
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