October 18th, 2024
Fewer dairy cattle and sheep are occupying New Zealand's paddocks, with a slight decline in the national dairy herd and sheep flock, reveals the five-yearly Agricultural Production Census 2022, released today by Stats NZ.
“The total number of dairy cattle was 6.1 million at June 2022. This is 8% lower than in 2014 when the total dairy cattle herd peaked at 6.7 million”, said Jason Attewell, general manager of economic and environment insights.
However, this reduction has not been evenly spread across New Zealand's islands. The North Island saw an 11% decrease in dairy cattle numbers from the 2014 peak, whereas the South Island witnessed a relatively lower decline of 5%.
On the sheep population, Attewell said that "The national sheep flock tallied 25.3 million at June 2022." This figure is a 2% drop from the previous year, despite which, there were still 22 million lambs tailed in the 2021-2022 year.
He said: “The ratio of sheep to people dropped below five to one in 2022, for the first time since the 1850s, when national sheep numbers were first recorded. In 1982 New Zealand sheep numbers famously sat at 22 per person."
Meanwhile, the number of beef cattle seems to have stabilised around 3.9 million, rebounding slightly from the historic low of 3.5 million in 2016.
The Census also sheds light on the horticultural sector, with a notable shift from green to gold in kiwifruit cultivation. Over the last decade, land area planted in gold kiwifruit has surged by 154% to 7,800 hectares, while the acreage in green kiwifruit has dropped by a third between 2012 and 2022.
Attewell praised the contribution of the agricultural community, stating, “Stats NZ thanks the tens of thousands of farmers, growers, and foresters who completed the Agricultural Production Census 2022. Their input helps shine a light on the importance of the industry in Aotearoa and will help shape its future.”