Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well, the primary sector is supporting the recovery strongly, and the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found farmer confidence rose for the third consecutive quarter, to remain in positive territory. The number of optimists outnumbered pessimists, with a net 10 percent of farmers expecting the rural economy to improve in the next 12 months, mainly due to rising prices for New Zealand's agricultural products. Farmers' expectations about their own farm performance also rose, increasing to a net 16-plus percent from 7 percent in the previous quarter. 