Pastoral farming, dairy milking and agriculture in Northland

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Pastoral Farming

The agricultural sector including dairying, beef, sheep and deer, contributes just over $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 regions jobs.

Dairy, beef and sheep farming are all key to the Northland pastoral sector

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.

Beef farming is an important part of the Northland pastoral sector, with a mixture of breeding and finishing properties. The development of facial eczema resistant sheep has seen resurgence in ewe numbers and many farmers are incorporating sheep into profitable farm systems. Farmers use Northlands relative advantage of warm winters as a competitive advantage to grow stock during the lucrative winter and spring months.

Northland has a long history of dairy farming, with a large number of farms calving in the autumn taking advantage of winter pasture growth.

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.

Dairy giant Fonterra operates from two sites in the region, Whangarei and Maungaturoto, 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.