increase font size
Dairy’s spending benefits the entire economy.
The dairy sector will earn New Zealand about $17.5 billion in export revenue this year, and likely more next year, says Professor Graeme Doole, DairyNZ principal economist.
This is more than earned by forestry, meat and wool combined, he says in a DairyNZ column.
“The entire economy benefits from dairy spending, directly, as in what dairy farmers and dairy companies buy from businesses NZ-wide and indirectly.
“Dairy significantly helps to fill Government’s tax coffers too, providing more money to pay for the essential services that help to improve people’s quality of life – education, hospitals, social security and welfare, police, etc.”
DairyNZ estimates that in the 2018-19 year dairy farmers paid $0.5 billion in taxes. For the 2019-20 year they will likely pay even more.
Dairy also pays regional government rates and other charges, helping to pay for local infrastructure and services. Farmers last year alone paid $200 million in rates.
The dairy sector employs 46,000 workers, equal to the entire population of Timaru, Canterbury’s second largest city, or of Upper Hutt.
On farm there are 34,000 full-time equivalent employees and 12,000 more in 35 dairy processing plants.
Dairy sector employment has grown faster (+3.1% per year) since 2000 than the rate of national job creation (+1.8% per year), boosting rural communities.
Every New Zealander is better off today thanks to the nation’s dairy cows and will continue to be better off in the future too, he says.
“The nutritional benefits of dairy to the human body as part of a balanced diet are factually documented. Dairy is also central to many of our culinary cultures, eg crumbly cheddar, smooth brie, ice cream, yoghurts and butter.”
Doole says milk helps improve lives, eg helping to pay for goods and services, and helping to reduce the price of others including imported items.
“And dairy farmers, who are innovators and responsive to the signals they receive, are improving their environmental practices, eg fencing and riparian planting to protect waterways, upgrading effluent systems, or working to reduce greenhouse gases.
“They are also playing a key role in communities as they work together to address issues of water quality.”
Regional stats
Northland: dairy, either farming or processing, generated $500 million in regional GDP and provided 2800 jobs.
Waikato: $2.2 billion in regional GDP and 13,400 jobs.
Bay of Plenty: $500m in regional GDP and 2800 jobs.
Taranaki: $950m in regional GDP and 5500 jobs.
Lower North Island: $700m in regional GDP and 4400 jobs.
West Coast-Tasman: $260m in regional GDP and 2100 jobs.
Marlborough-Canterbury: $1.5b in regional GDP and 8500 jobs.
Otago-Southland: $1.1b in regional GDP and 6100 jobs.
Building on the success of last year's events, the opportunity to attend People Expos is back for 2025, offering farmers the chance to be inspired and gain more tips and insights for their toolkits to support their people on farm.
DairyNZ says potential benefits from gene technology must be carefully weighed against the risks of such technology.
DairyNZ is supporting a proposed new learning model for apprenticeships and traineeships that would see training, education, and pastoral care delivered together to provide the best chance of success.
OPINION: Submissions on the Government's contentious Gene Technology Bill have closed.
New Zealand's red meat exports for 2024 finished on a positive note, with total export value increasing 17% over last December to reach $1.04 billion, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
The 2025 South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD) chairman, Rangiora farmer Andrew Stewart, is predicting a successful event on the back of good news coming out of the farming sector and with it a greater level of optimism among farmers.
WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.
Now is not the time to stop incorporating plantain into dairy pasture systems to reduce nitrogen (N) loss, says Agricom Australasia brand manager Mark Brown.
Building on the success of last year's events, the opportunity to attend People Expos is back for 2025, offering farmers the chance to be inspired and gain more tips and insights for their toolkits to support their people on farm.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser SustaiN – which contains a urease inhibitor that reduces the amount of ammonia released to the air – has now been registered by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). It is the first fertiliser in New Zealand to achieve this status.
Precision application of nitrogen can improve yields, but the costs of testing currently outweigh improved returns, according to new research from Plant and Food Research, MPI and Ravensdown.
OPINION: Donald Trump's focus on Canada is causing concern for the country’s dairy farmers.
OPINION: The fact that plant-based dairy is struggling to gain a market foothold isn’t deterring new entrants.
