Source: New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

The number of sheep in New Zealand has been declining since 1982 but increased efficiency means that a big part of the country’s economy still rides on the back of sheep farming.

This is one of the key findings in the provisional results of New Zealand's latest agricultural census - the first census to be held in eight years.

The 2002 Agricultural Production Census provisionally estimates that New Zealand’s sheep count was 39.2 million as at June 2002 - about 10 sheep for every person. That’s a significant drop since the last census in 1994 when there were about 14 sheep per person. The highest number of sheep ever recorded in New Zealand was in 1982 when there were 70 million sheep - about 22 sheep per person.

The agricultural census was conducted jointly by Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and provides a highly important overview of the agriculture industries. The early estimates from the census show that considerable changes have taken place on New Zealand farms in recent years.

Figures show that, in spite of the decline in sheep numbers, New Zealand’s lamb exports have continued to rise, partly because of an increasingly productive breeding flock, heavier lambs and favourable export prices. Lamb earned $2.0 billion in export income for the year to June 2002.

Assistant Director General, MAF Policy, Dr Paul Reynolds says that two-thirds of New Zealand’s merchandise export earnings now comes from agriculture, forestry and horticulture. That amounts to more than $20-billion annually.

"When first-stage processing and manufacturing are included, these sectors contribute an estimated 17 percent to the New Zealand economy, as measured by GDP," says Dr Reynolds.

It is estimated that there were 5.3 million dairy cattle in New Zealand as at 30 June 2002, so that the national dairy herd has grown by nearly 40 per cent since 1994. This increase was partly due to expansions in existing herds and conversions from other activities to dairy farming between 1994 and 1999. In addition, the herd has increased by a further 24 per cent since 1999, reflecting the increased profitability of dairying over most other land uses and opportunities through irrigation. Dairy products earned $7.1 billion in export income in the year to June 2002.

The national beef herd was estimated at 4.5 million as at 30 June 2002, an 11 per cent decrease since 1994 when the herd stood at 5.0 million. Exports of beef and veal earned over $1.8 billion for the year ended June 2002.

Horticultural exports have grown from $200 million to $2.1 billion over 20 years. Since 2000 there has been a spectacular rise in grapevine plantings which increased in area by 37% to 17,400 hectares. The 2002 census results show that kiwifruit plantings have remained roughly static at 12,200 hectares in recent years, while between 2000 and 2002 the area in apples fell by about 18 per cent to 11,600 hectares.

The areas harvested for squash, onions and sweetcorn (all significant horticultural exports for New Zealand) were estimated at 6,200 hectares, 5,500 hectares and 6,300 hectares, respectively. Areas in squash and onions were down from those of 2000.

At 51,100 hectares, the area planted in wheat for the year ended June 2002 was down slightly from that of 2000. Over the same period the area planted in barley increased by 35 per cent to 76,000 hectares.

"The information from the latest census will be used by central and local government as an input to land use policy and planning, industry forecasting, reporting to international organisations such as the United Nations and the OECD, and underpinning trade negotiations. The private sector should also find the statistics useful in forecasting New Zealand’s future needs for agricultural equipment and services," Dr Reynolds says.

Final statistics from the census will be released in May of this year, including detailed data at regional and district level, and additional information on farm types, forestry and land use. Details of the provisional data from the 2002 census are shown in the attached table.

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Source: Statistics New Zealand. Table compiled by the Policy Information Group, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.