February 5, 2019

Number of New Zealand dairy cattle dips for 2nd year in a row

The number of New Zealand's dairy cattle in FY 2018 decreased 1% for the second year to 6.4 million, according to Stats NZ. The fiscal year in review ended in June 2018.

"This followed a similar small dip in 2017, though overall dairy cattle numbers have been relatively steady since 2012," agricultural production statistics manager Stuart Pitts said.

As per Stats NZ, total dairy cattle were at their highest level in 2014 at 6.7 million.

"Dairy products are a huge export for New Zealand. The value of milk powder, butter and cheese exports for the year ended June 2018 was 14.1 billion (US$9.7 billion)", Pitts said.

The number of beef cattle, meanwhile increased for the second year in a row, up 5% to 3.8 million, Stats NZ said. 

The Ministry for Primary Industries' latest report also showed that about 52,000 cattle have been culled as part of the response to Mycoplasma bovis, a bacterial disease.