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Pastoral Farming
The agricultural sector including dairying, beef, sheep and deer, contributes more than $1 billion annually to the Northland economy. There are more than 4600 farming and farming related businesses in Northland and the sector provides over 14% of the region’s jobs.
About 840,000 hectares of land are in pasture and Northland's sub-tropical climate provides an advantage not enjoyed by other regions in New Zealand.
Nearly 80% of production rural land in Whangarei District is in grasslands for grazing. The District supports 150,000 dairy cattle, about 100,000 sheep, 100,000 beef cattle, 7,000 deer, 3,000 goats, 900 horses, plus pigs and poultry. The average dairy herd size is around 250 cows. There is a long history of dairy farming, with a large number of farms calving in the autumn taking advantage of winter pasture growth.
Beef farming is an important part of the Northland pastoral sector, with a mixture of breeding and finishing properties. The region provides nearly 20% of New Zealand’s beef output. Farmers use Northlands relative advantage of warm winters as a competitive advantage to grow stock during the lucrative winter and spring months.
The industry is well-supported by a group of industry representatives, including dairy, beef and sheep farmers, consultants, researchers and agricultural suppliers, who meet regularly to identify key sector issues and address these. A key goal of this group is research and development needs and communication of this research to farmers.
This sector has more potential for growth and even a 1% increase in productivity would return an additional $10 million to the regional economy. Previous research has driven the pastoral sector to double productivity in the last 15 years and it is essential that the region continues to coordinate research needs to ensure productivity continues to grow.
With the continued implementation of best practice, existing and new technology, alternative land use and smart marketing this sector will continue to be Northland’s largest.
Within the district, Dairy giant Fonterra operates a site at Kauri and Ballance Agri-Nutrients, a major supplier of fertiliser to rural industries is based in the Whangarei Port precinct.
Two processing companies operate in Northland, AFFCO and PPCS Richmond with plants in Moerewa and Dargaville respectively.
Related Websites
All of the following websites provide information about pastoral farming in Northland
