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Land

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Intensive pastoral land use

Sheep and beef cattle numbers have fallen since the early 1980s, while dairy cattle and deer numbers have increased. Dairy cattle numbers have doubled (from 2.92 million in 1981 to nearly 6 million in 2010).

Figure 1: Livestock numbers in New Zealand, 1981 - 2010

Read a description of this image

Year	Sheep	Beef cattle	Dairy cattle	Deer
1981	69883765	5113419	2922049	109158
1982	70301461	4905639	3006664	151020
1983	70262574	4496559	3133923	195653
1984	69738672	4530565	3245524	258707
1985	67853622	4613120	3308030	319908
1986	67469515	4880831	3398291	392154
1987	64243862	4804178	3194780	500397
1988	64600077	4858168	3199730	606042
1989	60568653	4526056	3302377	780066
1990	57852192	4593161	3440815	976290
1991	55161643	4670569	3429427	1129503
1992	52568393	4676497	3467824	1135242
1993	50298361	4757962	3550140	1078479
1994	49466054	5047848	3839184	1231109
1995	48816271	5182508	4089817	1178704
1996	47393907	4852179	4165098	1192138
1999	45679891	4643705	4316409	1676788
2002	39571837	4491281	5162000	1647938
2003	39552113	4626617	5101603	1689444
2004	39271137	4447400	5152492	1756888
2005	39879668	4423626	5087176	1705084
2006	40082000	4439465	5169557	1586918
2007	38460000	4394000	5261000	1396000
2008	34088000	4137000	5578000	1223000
2009	32384000	4101000	5861000	1146000
2010	32515000	3949000	5958000	1124000

Note: This graph shows livestock numbers nationally, measured in millions of animals, for sheep, beef cattle, dairy cows and deer between 1981 and 2008.
Data source: Ministry for the Environment

Between 1981 and 2009, the total area of land in pasture in New Zealand has also decreased. While the number of dairy farms has decreased, increases in the size of dairy farms have contributed to an increase in the total area of land in dairy pasture.

These trends in land use suggest an increase in intensive pastoral land use with higher stocking rates and stocking densities.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Agricultural Production Index 2006, production rates from pastoral farming increased in New Zealand by 38 per cent between 1990 and 2003. The increase in production is mainly due to:

• more intensive farming (ie, an increase in stocking rates or more livestock numbers per hectare)
• more productivity per animal (for example, increased milk production per cow, or higher lambing percentages and carcass weights).

This intensification of agricultural land use has occurred as farmers have responded to economic signals by converting suitable dry-stock pasture, exotic forestry and existing dairy farms into more intensive dairy farms.
A change to more intensive farming in some regions has resulted in:

• further reduction of freshwater quality in lowland rivers and waterways
• changes in soil health
• increases in some greenhouse gas emissions (for example, methane).

Intensive agriculture is most common in the lowland areas of Northland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatū, Canterbury and Southland. The intensification of dairy and deer farming has been particularly notable in the South Island.
The intensification of pastoral land use has led to a noticeable increase in the use of fertilisers and irrigation in high-producing exotic pastures, both of which have increased the environmental pressures on our waterways and groundwater.

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Last updated: January 2011