The Impact Of New Zealand Dairy Farming On The World Economy

By Mark H Holland

As one of the country's largest industries, dairy farming in New Zealand is a crucial part of our local economy as well as internationally. Every year more than $8 billion worth of milk and dairy products are exported from New Zealand to countries around the world, and the industry as a whole is worth close to $11 billion annually. Its small beginnings during the early days of European colonisation were nowhere near indicative of the size dairy farming has grown to today.

New Zealand milk production

Spring begins in September in New Zealand and ends in November, during which time pastures grow faster and cows produce more milk. Dairy farmers usually mate cows in the latter half of winter so that they lactate throughout the end of the year through till autumn.

Four million New Zealand cows produce a bit more than 80 million litres of milk per day during these peak Spring months. Most larger dairy farming operations only milk cows once per day to reduce the cost of production, but traditionally - and commonly still with smaller farms - cows have been milked twice daily.

The statistics of dairy farming

Dairy co-operatives have been the organisational structure of the industry since 1871. The number of co-operatives has gone from 600 to just 4 in the 1990s as transportation technology has allowed more consolidation. Fonterra is the largest of these co-operatives, processing close to 95% of milk solids from New Zealand dairy farms.

16 billion litres of milk is produced every year by New Zealand dairy farms and over 95% of this is exported. On a global scale this accounts for 2% of world milk production - not bad for a country of just 4.4 million people.

These exports are sent to different countries for very different reasons. Europe and specifically Britain is a major market for New Zealand butter, while cheese finds its way to the United States of America and Japan. Milk powder is exported primarily to South America and Southeast Asia.

Focus has shifted in recent years, even by larger names like Fonterra, to organic milk production. The number of organic dairy farms is on the rise, keeping up with a global trend of organic produce popularity. Adapting to these changes and preparing for the future is just an indication of how the New Zealand dairy industry will continue to be an important aspect of the world economy and a reflection of its achievements in innovation to date.

Find out about farm investment opportunities in New Zealand at http://www.waibury.co.nz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_H_Holland


http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Impact-Of-New-Zealand-Dairy-Farming-On-The-World-Economy&id=7254314