New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2010-11 - LIC

• More than 1.6 million cows in the South Island
• Largest average herd size (757) in North Canterbury
• South Island average herd sizes increasing faster than North Island
Farms in the South Island are, on average, larger than those in the North Island (in terms of both farm area and cow numbers, see Table 3.1).
Sixty-four percent of all cows are in the North Island, with 25% in the Waikato region. The average herd size in both islands continues to
increase. Within the South Island, North Canterbury has the largest average herd size (757 cows). In the North Island, Hawkes Bay has the
largest average herd size of 657 cows. The smallest herd sizes are in Auckland, Taranaki, and Northland, averaging 248, 279 and 296 cows
respectively. North Canterbury has the highest average cows per hectare (3.31), followed by South Canterbury (3.22). The regions with the
lowest average cows per hectare are the West Coast (2.17) and Northland (2.18).
Table 3.1: Herd analysis by region in 2010/11
Farming region Total herds Percentage
of herds
14
New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2010-11
Total cows Percentage
of cows
Total
effective
hectares
Percentage
of effective
hectares
Average herd
size
Average
effective
hectares
Average
cows per
hectare
Northland 930 7.9 275,070 6.1 126,081 7.7 296 136 2.18
Auckland 446 3.8 110,719 2.4 46,947 2.9 248 105 2.36
Waikato 3,566 30.4 1,135,279 25.1 387,925 23.7 318 109 2.93
Bay of Plenty 600 5.1 192,038 4.2 69,958 4.3 320 117 2.75
Central Plateau 460 3.9 236,648 5.2 90,397 5.5 514 197 2.62
Western Uplands 83 0.7 39,767 0.9 15,624 1.0 479 188 2.55
East Coast 9 0.1 4,742 0.1 1,951 0.1 527 217 2.43
Hawkes Bay 71 0.6 46,632 1.0 16,892 1.0 657 238 2.76
Taranaki 1,744 14.9 486,915 10.8 172,761 10.5 279 99 2.82
Manawatu 568 4.8 213,165 4.7 78,544 4.8 375 138 2.71
Wairarapa 470 4.0 164,720 3.6 61,139 3.7 350 130 2.69
North Island 8,947 76.2 2,905,695 64.2 1,068,219 65.2 325 119 2.72
Nelson/
Marlborough
241 2.1 84,779 1.9 32,482 2.0 352 135 2.61
West Coast 372 3.2 145,219 3.2 66,906 4.1 390 180 2.17
North Canterbury 676 5.8 511,862 11.3 154,417 9.4 757 228 3.31
South Canterbury 246 2.1 184,247 4.1 57,179 3.5 749 232 3.22
Otago 381 3.2 212,858 4.7 75,005 4.6 559 197 2.84
Southland 872 7.4 484,076 10.7 184,498 11.3 555 212 2.62
South Island 2,788 23.8 1,623,041 35.8 570,487 34.8 582 205 2.85
New Zealand 11,735 4,528,736 1,638,706 386 140 2.76