This, coupled with the increase in the importance of debt management as a strategy (ranked third, with 83% versus 68% farmers reporting it) and an increase in the perceived risk from changes in interest rates (Table 1), suggests that New Zealand farmers today are not afraid to become indebted, but instead are more focused on monitoring and managing debt to control this area of risk (Gray et al, 2009). This finding is supported by the changes in ranking of other financial responses. For instance, arranging overdraft reserves increased in ranking, while the use of financial reserves has declined. A greater percentage of farmers are investing off-farm (43% versus 36%) and have a family member working off-farm (27% versus 19%). In order to mitigate production risk, many farmers conserve surplus feed, in the form of hay or silage, usually in the spring, to feed to animals over the following winter, and sometimes in the summer.