A jewel in dairy's crown

Herd sizes have grown, pasture and feed systems have evolved, and technology is now fundamental to everyday operations. But nothing captures this transformation, quite like the DairyNZ Economic Survey.

We recently celebrated its 60th birthday and I see it as one of the more significant stories in our sector’s history.

I may be more prone to economic nostalgia given my first job out of university was as an agricultural economist at the Meat & Wool Board’s Economic Service in Wellington in the 1990s.

But I’m not the only one.

Malcolm Ellis from Fonterra shared the following.

“Right through the ‘90s and into the early 2000s, I would await the annual publication with real anticipation and study it cover to cover. I’d regularly extract ‘good oil’ from the survey for our farming interests, my teachings, or an article I was writing. Roll forward to today, and the online version is still open on my computer. The Microsoft Snipping Tool often hovers over aspects of this truly cherished, celebrated, and highly valued publication.”

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In a world full of data and everyone looking to harness it, the Economic Survey serves as a source of independent dairy truth – for many beyond our sector as well as in it.

That’s part of why I’m incredibly proud to celebrate the recent 60th anniversary of DairyNZ’s Economic Survey. This milestone is more than just a number - it represents six decades of progress, resilience, and innovation in one of New Zealand’s most important sectors.

Since 1963–64, the Economic Survey has provided a clear window into how our sector is tracking. It began life as the Economic Survey of Factory Supply Dairy Farmers, back when the average herd was just 92 cows. Today, that number has more than quadrupled, and milksolids per cow have nearly doubled – gains made possible through science, innovation, and a relentless drive from farmers to adapt and improve.

But the survey doesn’t just show how things have changed, it helps explain why.

It offers valuable insights into farm performance, cost structures, income trends, and sector-wide challenges. It’s one of New Zealand’s most comprehensive dairy datasets, used by farmers, economists, banks, and policymakers to benchmark performance and guide evidence-based decisions.

It supports national and international reporting and underpins economic modelling and tools like DairyNZ’s Econ Tracker. It also directly informs the direction of DairyNZ’s research, extension, and advocacy work on behalf of farmers.

Importantly, the Economic Survey is built on real-world data, voluntarily shared by farmers through DairyBase – a free, confidential tool that helps farmers better understand their farm system. That data then feeds directly into the Economic Survey, creating a full-circle benefit: individual insights for farmers, and collective value for the entire sector.

Importantly, this work is not only valued by DairyNZ — it’s recognised right across the sector. Earl Rattray of Dairy Link Ltd calls the Survey a “vital component of the dairy sector’s knowledge infrastructure,” saying it enables better decisions and smarter policy.

Sixty years on, we’re proud to continue this work for farmers. The Economic Survey is more than a report - it’s a living legacy, built with information from farmers, for farmers, that continues to guide us forward.

Tracy Brown is DairyNZ chair