Agriculture in New Zealand
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products (raw and manufactured) in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods.[1] The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector directly contributed $12.653 billion (or 5.1%) of the national GDP in the 12 months to September 2020,[2] and employed 143,000 people, 5.9% of New Zealand's workforce, as of the 2018 census.[3]
New Zealand is unique in being the only developed country to be totally exposed to the international markets since subsidies, tax concessions and price supports for the agricultural sector were removed in the 1980s.[4] However, as of 2017, the New Zealand Government still provides state investment in infrastructure which supports agriculture.[5]
New Zealand is a member of the Cairns Group, which is seeking to have free trade in agricultural goods.[6]
History
Following their settlement of New Zealand in the 13th century, the Māori people developed economic systems involving hunting, foraging, and agriculture.[7] The Māori people valued land and especially horticulture, with many and various traditional Māori proverbs and legends emphasise the importance of gardening.[8] European and American explorers, missionaries and settlers introduced new animals and plants from 1769, and mass European settlement and land transfer led in the second half of the 19th century to an agricultural system featuring large Australian-style pastoral runs raising sheep. Immigrant land-hunger, innovations in refrigeration in the 1880s and the rise of dairying fostered the land reforms of John McKenzie in the 1890s, permitting an agricultural landscape of smaller family-based farms which became New Zealand's 20th-century agricultural norm (the oft-repeated cliché trumpets that agriculture/farming/farmers constitute "the backbone of the [New Zealand] economy") - challenged only in recent years by the growth in large-scale commercial industrial agriculture[9] and in lifestyle blocks.[10]
The
The government offered a number of subsidies during the 1970s to assist farmers after the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community[12] and by the early 1980s government support provided some farmers with 40 percent of their income.[13] In 1984 the Labour government ended all farm subsidies under Rogernomics,[14] and by 1990 the agricultural industry became the most deregulated sector in New Zealand.[15] To stay competitive in the heavily subsidised European and US markets New Zealand farmers had to increase the efficiency of their operations.[16][17]
Pastoral farming
Aquaculture started in New Zealand in the late 1960s and is dominated by mussels, oysters and salmon. In 2007, aquaculture generated about NZ$360 million in sales on an area of 7,700 hectares with a total of $240 million earned in exports. In 2006, the aquaculture industry in New Zealand developed a strategy aimed at achieving a sustainable annual billion NZ dollar business by 2025. In 2007, the government reacted by offering more support to the growing industry.[needs update]
Beekeeping
New Zealand had 2,602 beekeepers at the end of 2007, who owned 313,399 hives. Total honey production was 9700 tonnes. Pollen, beeswax, and propolis are also produced. Beekeepers provide pollination services to horticulturalists, which generates more income than the products of bee culture. Approximately 20–25,000 queen bees, and 20 tonnes of packaged bees (which include worker bees and a queen) are exported live each year.[58]
Environmental issues
Both the original
In 1993, the
In 2004 the
Almost half of the
Organic farming
Organic farming practices began on a commercial scale in the 1980s and is now an increasing segment of the market with some of the larger companies such as Wattie's becoming involved.
Agricultural pests
A number of plant and animal introductions into New Zealand has reduced the income from farming. Tight border controls to improve biosecurity have been put into place to ensure any new and unwanted pests and diseases do not enter the country. Monitoring is done around sea and airports to check for any incursions.
Animal pests
The
Possums are controlled through a combination of trapping, ground-baiting and, where other methods are impractical, aerial treatment with 1080 poison.[66]
From 1979 to 1984, possum control was stopped due to lack of funding. In spite of regular and frequent TB testing of cattle herds, the number of infected herds snowballed and continued to increase until 1994.[67] The area of New Zealand where there were TB wild animals expanded from about 10 to 40 per cent.
That possums are such effective transmitters of TB appears to be facilitated by their behaviour once they succumb to the disease. Terminally ill TB possums will show increasingly erratic behaviour, such as venturing out during the daytime to get enough food to eat, and seeking out buildings in which to keep warm. As a consequence they may wander onto paddocks, where they naturally attract the attention of inquisitive cattle and deer. This behaviour has been captured on video.[68]
The introduced Canada goose became prolific and began to adversely affect pastures and crops. In 2011 restrictions on hunting them were dropped to allow them to be culled.
Plant pests
Gorse was introduced as a hedgerow plant but has become the most expensive agricultural plant pest costing millions of dollars in efforts to control its spread over farmland.
Other serious pasture and crop land plant pests are nodding thistle (
Biosecurity
Because of its geographical isolation New Zealand is free of some pest and diseases that are problematic for agricultural production in other countries. With a high level of international trade and large numbers of inbound tourists biosecurity is of great importance since any new pest or diseases brought into the country could potentially have a huge effect on the economy of New Zealand.
There have been no outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in New Zealand. If an outbreak did occur there is potential for severe economic losses given that agricultural exports are a large segment of exports.[70] New Zealand has strict biosecurity[71] measures in place to prevent the introduction of unwanted pests and diseases.
In 2017, some cattle near
Tenure review
Many areas of the high country of the South Island were set up as large sheep and cattle stations in the late 19th century. Much of this land was leased from The Crown but after the passing of the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 the leases were reviewed. Environmentalists and academics raised concerns about the process saying that farmers were gaining an advantage and that conservation issues were not being resolved. Farmers were concerned that environmentalists and academics used the tenure review process to lock land up for conservation purposes without regard to the property rights of farmers or planning for how to manage that land in the future, and much land has been degraded by pests and weeds since it was retired from farming.
Policy, promotion and politics
The
Federated Farmers, a large and influential lobby group, represents farmers' interests. It has a voluntary membership which stands[when?] at over 26,000.
The Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, established in 1941, promotes organic food and farming.
The New Zealand Young Farmers, a national organisation formed in 1927 with regional clubs throughout the country, runs the annual Young Farmer Contest.
Irrigation New Zealand, a national body representing farmers who use irrigation as well as the irrigation industry, opposes water conservation orders.[72]
Foreign ownership
Almost 180,000 hectares of farming land was purchased or leased by foreign interests between 2010 and 2021. The United States is the biggest nation owning land in New Zealand, China is second.[73][74]
There is opposition to foreign ownership in New Zealand, The populist New Zealand First party is the largest party opposed to foreign ownership. In a 2011 Poll found that 82% believed foreign ownership of farms and agriculture land was a "bad thing". Only 10% believed it a "good thing" and 8% were unsure.[75]
Future of New Zealand agriculture
There are two main views on the immediate future of New Zealand agriculture. One is that, due to fast-rising consumer demand in India and China, the world is entering a golden age for commodities, and New Zealand is well placed to take advantage of this. The other view is that New Zealand will only gain limited rewards from this boom because of increasing production competition from developing countries. For New Zealand to remain competitive, farmers will either have to intensify production to remain commodity producers (increasing stock and fertiliser per hectare) or, instead, become producers of higher value, more customised products.[60]
AgResearch Ltd (New Zealand's largest Crown Research Institute) believes that new technologies will allow New Zealand farmers to double their output by 2020, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and other detrimental environmental impacts associated with farming practices.[60]
Impact on New Zealand culture
Rural New Zealand has affected the culture of New Zealand.
Country Calendar is a factual television programme about farming methods and country life, and is watched by both rural and urban New Zealanders. The show first premièred on 6 March 1966, and is the country's longest-running locally-made television series.[76]
The
Number 8 wire is used for fencing and has become part of the cultural lexicon. It is used for all manner of tasks and it describes the do it yourself mentality of New Zealanders.
Agricultural and Pastoral shows
A fixture in many rural towns, the annual Agricultural and Pastoral (A&P) show[77] organises competitions for the best livestock and farm produce. Carnivals, sideshows, equestrian events and craft competitions also take place in association with A&P shows.
See also
- Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust
- Animal welfare in New Zealand
- Fishing industry in New Zealand
- Flax in New Zealand
- Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand
- Genetic engineering in New Zealand
- Pesticides in New Zealand
- Hump and hollow, a pasture improvement technique
- National Animal Identification and Tracing
- Station (New Zealand agriculture)
- Crafar Farms
- Animal Health Board
- Regulation of animal research in New Zealand
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Further reading
- A lasting Legacy – A 125-year history of New Zealand Farming since the first Frozen Meat Shipment, Ed. Colin Williscroft PMP, NZ Rural Press Limited, Auckland, 2007
External links
- Ministry for Primary Industries
- Statistics New Zealand – Primary production page
- MPI Biosecurity New Zealand
- Organics Aotearoa New Zealand
- Soil & Health Association of New Zealand
- Country-Wide magazine – In-depth information helping farmers make more money (based in New Zealand)
- The Deer Farmer – The Deer Farmer Business Independent: The world's premier deer farming journal (based in New Zealand)
- The Farmer in New Zealand (1941 Centennial publication)
- The TBfree New Zealand programme