When the New Zealand grain shipment leaves port for Russia and Pakistan in a few weeks, NZ farmers will once again reap the benefits of an agile and productive agriculture that continues to ensure their role as a global food provider.
The dual crises of a Russian heat wave and the Indus Valley floods guaranteed the necessity of an increase in grain imports.
The recent earthquakes that imperiled dairy production may also lead some Canterbury farmers to rethink the highly dependent farm systems and shift to the more flexible nature of crop growing.
These would be just the kind of efficient and adaptive land uses I'm sure were envisioned by the deregulatory princes of the 1980s.
But, alas, no shipment of NZ grain will be able to feed the world.
New Zealand agriculture cannot shift systems every few months deciding between a buy, sell or hold range of options on their land use or stock numbers.
While many in New Zealand seem to think farmers can simply make dramatic changes to their farm systems to chase the latest fad, they miss the limitations of capital, land and lifestyle that operate on farmers' decisions.
Farms are not factories that can be retrofitted overnight - no matter how profitable wheat might be this week.
There are a few reasons for this.
Agriculture is tied to land, and there is only so much to go around.
It's that simple.
It's an environmental constraint that some paddocks just might not be able to grow wheat very well.
It might be so simple as to elude the eyes of bankers, economists and speculators who trade on possible futures for agriculture.
Economics.
A recent dairy conversion is not going to sacrifice the capital investment of the new rotary, sharemilker contracts, etc, to chase a record grain price.
It doesn't stack up ... Which leads us to the money.
Making a profit in farming is essential to keep the kids in school, to improve one's farm system and to be able to keep farming (successfully).
And crass financial manoeuvres like South Canterbury Finance only serve to undermine the hard work of most farmers and rural communities.
Trust.
From the Government down and farm employees up, there exists a chain of authority and control in New Zealand agriculture that, when operating smoothly and effectively (and profitably for all), is based on trust.
That system strikes me (and as seen in Neal Wallace's sheep future series a few weeks ago, others do as well) as pretty broken.
Farmers, especially sheep and beef, tend to distrust the processors, the Government, so-called farmer spokesmen and the media.
All along the chain, self-interest dominates, along with the reality that farmers are not all the same.
And that's a barrier to national financial success and longevity.
Environment.
While a possible carbon tax rightly raises concern, New Zealand prides itself and brands itself as clean and green.
For many, especially tourists, clean and green brings to mind the Remarkables, green paddocks and healthy looking animals along the state highways (not to mention a safe place for Hobbits).
To risk harming the elements that make New Zealand a global travel destination, not to mention undermining the health of families, neighbours and communities, makes little sense.
But as it is, the politics of the environment provide more fodder for conflict than an opportunity to work together.
National Traditions.
When we think of farmers and farming communities, we often implicitly refer to traditions and values associated with them.
The shift to farming solely for profit espoused by Government and so-called advocacy groups, erodes trust and undermines farmers' ability to co-operate.
One of Wallace's conclusions was for farmers to stop playing the victim and do something together, but there are limited options when self-interest trumps a collective sense of co-operation.
The South Canterbury Financial collapse should be seen as a possible future, much like the housing bust predicated in the US.
Rather than holding farmers - who are leveraged to the hilt and expanding at unsustainable levels - as the model to aspire to, maybe New Zealand agriculture needs to reassess its priorities, valuing the family farm and rural communities, not just as slogans, but with mediation to foster strong industries.
While dairy and kiwifruit models may not be perfect or repeatable, they do demonstrate Kiwi ingenuity that might successfully be adapted as co-operative and trust-filled across sheep and beef farmers.
And, just maybe, NZ wool might be valued again.
But if these farming institutions fail to nurture relationships of trust at multiple levels, NZ agriculture could suffer like global banking, except instead of houses being foreclosed it will be New Zealand communities.
Paul Stock is a sociologist and Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Otago.