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During the 1980s in New Zealand the fabric of state support which had gradually expanded after World War 2 was suddenly removed. Farmers' interest groups found they were unable to influence appreciably the general direction of macroeconomic policy or to contain the influence of deregulationist policies on agriculture. A political economy approach is used to conceptualise and offer preliminary theoretical suggestions about the changing interconnections between economy and state during the present restructuring crisis, especially the need to focus on the disintegration and recomposition of political constituencies and organisations when macropolicy and sectoral frameworks are dismantled. The changing strategies of farmers' interest groups and related agricultural politics amidst an unprecedented episode of state-sector restructuring in New Zealand over the decade are discussed.

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The assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture has emerged as a recognizable field of research over the past 15 years or so. In a relatively short period, this area of work has undergone a number of important conceptual and methodological developments. Among many questions that have been debated are the adaptability of agriculture to climate change and the importance of land management adjustments in reducing the adverse effects of climate change. In turn, this latter focus has spawned a discussion regarding the nature of adaptation and the ability of agriculture to respond to sudden and rapid climatic changes.