Farming and Forestry

Farms, orchards and forests are valuable businesses with their own risks, so the legal work goes well beyond the land itself. We help with buying and selling farms and orchards, finance, employment, sharemilking and grazing agreements, leases, and resource consents and environmental issues. We also help farming families protect their assets and plan for succession – see our wills, trusts and estate planning page.

Possibly, but there are now limits. Since 31 October 2025, new legislation has restricted registering mostly exotic post-1989 forest on land in Land Use Capability (LUC) classes 1 to 6 that was not already forestry land on that date. There are exceptions – such as indigenous forest, exempt Māori land and land classed 7 or 8 – and you may still register up to 25% of restricted land on an individual farm. Read more in Over the fence.

Yes. A 2026 High Court decision upheld that company directors can be held personally liable for environmental damage caused by forestry operations. The directors had a duty to make sure resource consents and the Resource Management Act 1991 were complied with, and could not avoid liability by relying on the company structure alone. Read more in Over the fence – Rural update.

The government has announced changes designed to let eligible KiwiSaver members withdraw their funds to buy a first farm, even where the farm is bought through a company or trust. You would still need a meaningful ownership interest in the buying entity, and the farm must have a residential element connected to you. When we wrote about it, the legislation was still to be introduced, so talk to us early about the current rules – see KiwiSaver changes open the door to first farm ownership.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the person conducting the business or undertaking must take all reasonably practicable steps to eliminate or minimise risks to visitors. That includes warning authorised visitors of work-related or out-of-the-ordinary hazards, such as chemicals, animals, machinery and oxidation ponds. The duty applies to authorised visitors, not to people who come onto the property without permission. Read more in Over the fence.