NZ cattle herd shrinking 1% year-on-year
New Zealand reached peak cattle numbers 10 years ago
26 September 2024
1 minute read
By: New Zealand’s national cattle herd has been decreasing year-on-year at a rate of 1% per year, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.
This is anticipated to continue based on forecasts by the governments Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Figure 1 shows regional changes between MY 2022 and MY 2023, highlighting the land-use change in regions such as Tasman and Bay of Plenty to horticulture and property developments.
Figure 2 shows the total herd size and proportion of dairy and beef cattle in the national herd, also displaying that New Zealand reached peak cattle numbers ten years ago in 2014 and has slowly been declining since.
