Foremost, adverse consequences projected for NZ did not turn out to be as bad as predicted but were still felt deeply by many sectors. Sectors hit the hardest were sheep, beef, and wheat producers. Much of the higher debt to equity ratio was a result of declining land values. Arable land values dropped the most because the loss of protection for wheat growers from the marketing board meant that NZ would be unable to compete with cheaper Australian imports. Sheepmeat and wool was subsidized much more heavily in relation to beef and dairy so that sheep farms also felt a larger impact.
Statistics suggest that total farm numbers have actually increased after policy reform.
Another survival strategy for most farmers was a shift from expenditures on repairs, maintenance, and fertilizers to interest expense and debt servicing. Wage expenses were already at minimal levels so that little reduction in labor occurred. A more subtle impact of policy reform is that reduced land values appear to have increased farm sales to non-family members. Retiring farmers have had to take a larger portion of their equity in the farm for purchasing retirement property, leaving insufficient equity and funds for their children to enter farming. The age distribution of farmers is somewhat younger now than in the mid-70s with farmers older than 55 declining after reform while farmers younger than 25 and between 35 and 45 have increased.