Monday, 17 December 2012 11:06

Dairy herd surges

Written by 

The number of dairy cattle in New Zealand continues to surge, and is up by more than a million since 2007, Statistics New Zealand says. At 6.5 million, there are 1.2 million more dairy cattle in 2012 than in 2007.

"Dairy numbers have been booming in the last five years. The extra production equates to about 370 2-litre bottles of milk a year for everyone in the country," agriculture statistics manager Hamish Hill says.

These provisional numbers are from the latest five-yearly agricultural production census.

"There have been some real changes in the balance of agriculture in New Zealand since the last census. Dairy's obviously been a big mover, and the sheep number has fallen. Kiwifruit has been holding steady despite the adverse effects of Psa disease," Hill says.
In 2007, there were nine sheep for every New Zealander, but in 2012 this had dropped to seven. The current sheep flock is 31.2 million.

"The New Zealand wine sector has experienced phenomenal growth over the last 30 years despite a more-recent slow-down. The area planted in wine grapes in 2012 is more than six times the area planted in 1982, an increase the size of Great Barrier Island," Hills says. The wine industry has grown from having 5,280 hectares planted in wine grapes in 1982 to just over 34,020 hectares in 2012.

The agricultural production census involved farmers, horticulturists, and foresters in New Zealand.
The census was conducted in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries.

More like this

Keeping a watch on dairy farms

OPINION: Dairy farmers are under increasing pressure to safeguard their livestock, equipment and operations from a range of security threats.

Inconvenient truth

OPINION: You would've missed this one if you rely on mainstream media for your news, but your old mate reckons credit should go where credit's due: Emissions by dairy cattle decreased by 1.6% according to the latest NZ Greenhouse Gas Inventory report.

Taranaki dairy farms saved by $10/kgMS payout

Only this season’s $10/kgMS bumper payout has saved some dairy farms along the Taranaki coast from absolute disaster due to the present drought – dubbed as one of the worst ever for some.

Featured

LIC Space folds for good

Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

National

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

Machinery & Products

Shearing legend hooked on CanAm

Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs…

50 years of tractor pull

This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling…

The Wrangler's birthday bash

It's the Wrangler Limited’s 30th birthday and to celebrate the milestone a prototype of the E Series Wrangler - a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Free speech

OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter