3 Regional dairy statistics | Dairy_Statistics_2022-23

3.1 Regions

70.2% of dairy herds are located in the North Island
42.6% of dairy cows are located in the South Island

The majority of dairy herds (70.2%) are located in the North Island, with the greatest concentration (28.5%) situated in the Waikato region (Table 3.1). Taranaki is the second largest dairy region (with 14% of dairy herds), followed by Southland (with 9.3% of dairy herds).

Although South Island dairy herds account for 29.8% of the national total, they contain 42.6% of all cows milked (Graph 3.1) as South Island dairy herds are larger than North Island dairy herds (Table 3.1). The Waikato region has the highest share of all dairy cows with 22.6%, followed by North Canterbury (14.9%), Southland (12.5%) and Taranaki (9.5%).

Largest average herd size (792) in North Canterbury

Farms in the South Island are, on average, larger than those in the North Island (both in terms of farm area and cow numbers, see Table 3.1). This season the average herd size increased in the North Island, and decreased in the South Island. Within the South Island, North Canterbury has the largest average herd size (792 cows). In the North Island, Hawkes Bay has the largest average herd size of 660 cows. The smallest average herd sizes remain in Auckland, Taranaki, and Northland, averaging 283, 301 and 328 cows, respectively. North and South Canterbury have the highest average cows per hectare of 3.47 and 3.26 respectively, both of which are marginal reductions relative to the previous season. The regions with the lowest average cows per hectare are the West Coast (2.21) and Northland (2.24).

Region	Total herds	Percentage of herds	Total cows	Percentage of cows	Total effective hectares	Percentage of effective hectares	Average herd size	Average effective hectares	Average cows per hectare
Northland	705	6.7	231,402	5.0	103,517	6.2	328	147	2.24
Auckland	301	2.8	85,240	1.8	35,310	2.1	283	117	2.41
Waikato	3,020	28.5	1,057,651	22.6	362,204	21.8	350	120	2.92
Bay of Plenty	476	4.5	167,599	3.6	59,057	3.6	352	124	2.84
Central Plateau	456	4.3	262,767	5.6	97,870	5.9	576	215	2.68
Western Uplands	85	0.8	45,228	1.0	17,778	1.1	532	209	2.54
East Coast	9	0.1	5,086	0.1	2,097	0.1	565	233	2.43
Hawkes Bay	64	0.6	42,217	0.9	14,715	0.9	660	230	2.87
Taranaki	1,479	14.0	445,508	9.5	160,864	9.7	301	109	2.77
Manawatu	482	4.5	197,251	4.2	78,048	4.7	409	162	2.53
Wairarapa	367	3.5	142,890	3.1	52,583	3.2	389	143	2.72
North Island	7,444	70.2	2,682,839	57.4	984,043	59.3	432	164	2.62
Nelson / Marlborough	190	1.8	70,976	1.5	26,467	1.6	374	139	2.68
West Coast	351	3.3	139,137	3.0	63,028	3.8	396	180	2.21
North Canterbury	880	8.3	697,292	14.9	200,849	12.1	792	228	3.47
South Canterbury	313	3.0	243,235	5.2	74,602	4.5	777	238	3.26
Otago	437	4.1	257,577	5.5	90,164	5.4	589	206	2.86
Southland	986	9.3	583,694	12.5	220,277	13.3	592	223	2.65
South Island	3,157	29.8	1,991,911	42.6	675,387	40.7	587	203	2.90
New Zealand	10,601		4,674,750		1,659,430		486	178	2.73

Highest average production per herd for the season was recorded in North Canterbury

North Canterbury had the highest average herd production (343,077 kilograms of milksolids) in the South Island and New Zealand, which was approximately the same as last season (Table 3.2). In order to maintain this level of production despite decreasing average herd size production per cow rose to 434 kilograms of milksolids per cow. In the North Island, Hawkes Bay recorded the highest average herd production of 251,496 kilograms of milksolids, reflecting large herd sizes.

In 2022/23, average production per effective hectare and production per cow was higher in the South Island than in the North Island.In the South Island, North Canterbury recorded the highest average milksolids per hectare (1,503 kg MS/ha) for the 16th season in a row. In the North Island, Waikato had the highest average milksolids production per hectare (1,139 kg MS/ha).

In the South Island, Southland had the highest average milksolids per cow (460 kg MS/cow), and in the North Island, Manawatu had the highest average milksolids per cow (409 kg MS/cow).

Region	Total kg milk solids	Percent milk solids	Average litres per herd	Average kg milkfat per herd	Average kg protein per herd	Average kg milk solids per herd	Average kg milkfat per effective hectare	Average kg protein per effective hectare	Average kg milk solids per effective hectare	Average kg milkfat per cow	Average kg protein per cow	Average kg milk solids per cow
Northland	73,744,740	3.9	1,164,669	59,000	45,602	104,602	402	311	712	175	135	309
Auckland	31,752,549	1.7	1,190,527	59,295	46,195	105,490	505	394	899	205	160	365
Waikato	412,514,347	22.0	1,521,501	76,804	59,791	136,594	640	499	1,139	219	170	389
Bay of Plenty	57,123,892	3.0	1,339,585	67,926	52,082	120,008	547	420	967	193	148	341
Central Plateau	99,848,637	5.3	2,446,310	123,152	95,815	218,966	574	446	1,020	223	173	396
Western Uplands	14,155,791	0.8	1,816,289	93,915	72,624	166,539	449	347	796	183	141	323
East Coast	1,509,543	0.1	1,811,258	94,340	73,386	167,727	405	315	720	162	126	288
Hawkes Bay	16,095,716	0.9	2,802,383	140,030	111,465	251,496	609	485	1,094	208	164	372
Taranaki	181,286,223	9.7	1,337,134	68,966	53,607	122,574	634	493	1,127	227	176	403
Manawatu	80,227,305	4.3	1,884,935	92,848	73,599	166,447	573	455	1,028	228	181	409
Wairarapa	52,240,024	2.8	1,566,367	80,021	62,323	142,343	559	435	993	204	159	363
North Island	1,020,498,767	54.5	1,716,451	86,936	67,863	154,799	536	418	954	202	158	360
Nelson / Marlborough	25,737,813	1.4	1,482,743	76,318	59,144	135,462	548	425	972	203	156	359
West Coast	46,916,977	2.5	1,442,164	75,306	58,360	133,667	419	325	744	194	149	343
North Canterbury	301,907,445	16.1	3,783,877	190,941	152,135	343,077	837	667	1,503	242	193	434
South Canterbury	103,055,172	5.5	3,615,157	183,492	145,758	329,250	770	612	1,381	240	190	430
Otago	109,544,664	5.8	2,755,634	139,649	111,026	250,674	677	538	1,215	236	188	424
Southland	265,360,093	14.2	2,950,763	150,020	119,108	269,128	672	533	1,205	256	203	460
South Island	852,522,166	45.5	2,671,723	135,954	107,589	243,543	654	516	1,170	228	180	408
New Zealand	1,873,020,932	100.0	2,053,606	104,237	81,884	186,120	578	453	1,030	211	165	377

3.2 Districts

South Taranaki continues to be the district with the highest number of herds (901) followed by Matamata-Piako (815) (Table 3.3), while the Southland district continues to have the most cows (436,181), followed by Ashburton (352,439). Mackenzie district in South Canterbury has the highest average herd size for the fourth season in a row with 1,102 cows, followed by Ashburton in North Canterbury with 843 cows. The number of owner-operators and sharemilkers is included in Table 3.3. Fifty-six percent of herds are run by owner-operators, while 29.2% of herds are operated by sharemilkers of various types (Table 3.5). The remainder (19.3%) are largely herds with contract milkers.

Region	District	Total herds	Number of owner operators	Number of contract milkers	Number of share milkers	Total cows	Total effective hectares	Average herd size	Average effective hectares	Average cows per hectare
Northland	Far North	196	128	19	45	63,166	28,328	322	145	2.23
	Whangarei	245	139	30	71	81,374	35,416	332	145	2.30
	Kaipara	264	175	31	55	86,863	39,772	329	151	2.18
Auckland	Rodney / Auckland	115	66	17	32	32,801	13,941	285	121	2.35
	Manukau / Papakura	8	5	0	3	2,586	1,176	323	147	2.20
	Franklin	178	90	18	69	49,853	20,193	280	113	2.47
Waikato	Waikato	595	313	79	197	206,703	73,230	347	123	2.82
	Hamilton City	16	8	1	7	4,509	1,535	282	96	2.94
	Waipa	493	250	93	145	183,722	61,512	373	125	2.99
	Otorohanga	331	173	43	113	124,266	43,356	375	131	2.87
	Thames-Coromandel	73	43	18	12	22,524	8,530	309	117	2.64
	Hauraki	337	169	69	97	103,339	36,972	307	110	2.80
	Matamata-Piako	815	384	103	316	261,142	84,516	320	104	3.09
	South Waikato	360	172	80	106	151,447	52,552	421	146	2.88
Bay of Plenty	Western Bay of Plenty	158	86	33	37	57,486	19,667	364	124	2.92
	Tauranga	10	5	2	3	4,577	1,607	458	161	2.85
	Kawerau / Whakatane	245	147	33	61	85,048	30,173	347	123	2.82
	Opotiki	63	32	4	26	20,488	7,610	325	121	2.69
Central Plateau	Taupo	169	114	23	32	133,846	50,126	792	297	2.67
	Rotorua	287	158	45	83	128,921	47,744	449	166	2.70
Western Uplands	Waitomo	59	30	7	22	32,311	12,533	548	212	2.58
	Ruapehu	26	14	2	10	12,917	5,245	497	202	2.46
East Coast	Gisborne / Wairoa	9	6	2	1	5,086	2,097	565	233	2.43
Hawkes Bay	Napier / Hastings	26	18	3	5	15,356	5,736	591	221	2.68
	Central Hawkes Bay	38	30	3	5	26,861	8,979	707	236	2.99
Taranaki	New Plymouth	364	205	42	117	99,802	38,598	274	106	2.59
	Stratford	214	137	23	54	56,010	21,084	262	99	2.66
	South Taranaki	901	478	140	282	289,696	101,182	322	112	2.86
Manawatu	Wanganui	19	14	1	4	7,708	3,797	406	200	2.03
	Rangitikei	78	52	13	13	37,602	14,495	482	186	2.59
	Manawatu	223	144	27	52	87,126	34,641	391	155	2.52
	Palmerston North City	43	30	7	6	19,979	7,653	465	178	2.61
	Horowhenua	106	73	11	22	40,684	15,683	384	148	2.59
	Kapiti Coast / Upper Hutt	13	7	2	4	4,152	1,779	319	137	2.33
Wairarapa	Tararua	242	143	35	64	84,895	32,537	351	134	2.61
	Masterton	14	5	3	5	7,633	2,629	545	188	2.90
	Carterton	45	35	6	4	17,864	6,319	397	140	2.83
	South Wairarapa	66	32	21	13	32,498	11,098	492	168	2.93
North Island		7,444	4,110	1,089	2,193	2,682,839	984,043	404	153	2.64
Nelson / Marlborough	Marlborough	44	33	3	8	15,330	5,541	348	126	2.77
	Kaikoura	20	11	0	9	8,582	2,806	429	140	3.06
	Tasman/Nelson City	126	90	14	22	47,064	18,120	374	144	2.60
West Coast	Buller	114	85	5	24	44,360	19,051	389	167	2.33
	Grey	93	66	7	20	42,017	18,679	452	201	2.25
	Westland	144	110	6	28	52,760	25,298	366	176	2.09
North Canterbury	Hurunui	95	52	23	20	77,738	23,773	818	250	3.27
	Waimakariri	99	54	10	34	66,644	20,355	673	206	3.27
	Christchurch City	36	18	7	11	28,667	9,025	796	251	3.18
	Banks Peninsula	6	3	0	3	2,079	752	346	125	2.76
	Selwyn	226	159	18	49	169,725	48,520	751	215	3.50
	Ashburton	418	224	52	140	352,439	98,424	843	235	3.58
South Canterbury	Timaru	177	121	10	46	125,744	37,492	710	212	3.35
	Mackenzie	16	6	2	8	17,628	5,932	1,102	371	2.97
	Waimate	120	64	6	50	99,863	31,178	832	260	3.20
Otago	Waitaki	153	68	14	63	101,909	31,040	666	203	3.28
	Dunedin City	62	35	2	22	28,184	9,726	455	157	2.90
	Clutha	188	110	18	52	100,609	38,294	535	204	2.63
	Central Otago / Lakes	34	24	5	4	26,874	11,104	790	327	2.42
Southland	Gore	161	90	21	44	89,640	34,901	557	217	2.57
	Invercargill	101	51	17	29	57,873	22,070	573	219	2.62
	Southland	724	375	100	221	436,181	163,305	602	226	2.67
South Island		3,157	1,849	340	907	1,991,911	675,387	610	210	2.90
New Zealand		10,601	5,959	1,429	3,100	4,674,750	1,659,430	507	182	2.79

Nationally, Mackenzie district had the highest average production per herd again with 410,427 kilograms of milksolids followed by Hurunui with 370,921 kilograms of milksolids (Table 3.4). Ashburton had the highest average milksolids per effective hectare with 1,563 kilograms, while Hurunui had the second highest (1,482 kilograms per hectare). Southland also recorded the highest average production per cow (466 kilograms of milksolids) followed by Invercargill district (456 kilograms of milksolids). Within the North Island districts, Taupo had the highest milksolids production per herd with an average of 289,912 kilograms of milksolids, followed by Central Hawkes Bay with 286,348 kilograms. Of all the North Island districts, Masterton and Matamata-Piako again produced the highest average kilograms of milksolids per hectare (1,235 and 1,221 respectively), while South Waikato district produced the highest average kilograms of milksolids per cow (418).

Region	District	Average litres per herd	Average kg milkfat per herd	Average kg protein per herd	Average kg milk solids per herd	Average kg milkfat per effective hectare	Average kg protein per effective hectare	Average kg milk solids per effective hectare	Average kg milkfat per cow	Average kg protein per cow	Average kg milk solids per cow
Northland	Far North	1,165,507	58,665	45,514	104,179	406	315	721	172	133	305
	Whangarei	1,212,853	61,566	47,429	108,995	426	328	754	181	139	319
	Kaipara	1,119,332	56,867	43,973	100,841	377	292	669	171	132	303
Auckland	Rodney / Auckland	1,096,742	56,225	42,977	99,201	464	355	818	191	146	337
	Manukau / Papakura	1,259,051	61,572	49,356	110,927	419	336	755	204	162	366
	Franklin	1,248,039	61,177	48,132	109,309	539	424	964	214	169	383
Waikato	Waikato	1,465,133	73,525	57,093	130,617	597	464	1,061	210	163	372
	Hamilton City	1,170,305	60,055	45,820	105,874	626	478	1,104	211	161	373
	Waipa	1,667,245	83,939	65,454	149,393	673	525	1,197	225	176	401
	Otorohanga	1,577,933	80,072	62,285	142,357	611	476	1,087	216	168	384
	Thames-Coromandel	1,145,175	58,346	45,162	103,508	499	386	886	188	146	334
	Hauraki	1,242,248	62,744	48,953	111,696	572	446	1,018	209	163	372
	Matamata-Piako	1,402,179	71,306	55,279	126,584	688	533	1,221	223	173	395
	South Waikato	1,986,650	99,542	78,148	177,690	682	535	1,217	234	184	418
Bay of Plenty	Western Bay of Plenty	1,303,610	66,870	51,142	118,012	537	411	948	187	143	329
	Tauranga	1,515,515	81,048	61,171	142,219	504	381	885	190	142	332
	Kawerau / Whakatane	1,421,908	71,625	54,954	126,579	582	446	1,028	204	156	360
	Opotiki	1,081,738	54,108	41,828	95,936	448	346	794	166	128	293
Central Plateau	Taupo	3,228,920	162,927	126,985	289,912	549	428	977	212	166	378
	Rotorua	1,985,469	99,730	77,460	177,190	599	466	1,065	229	178	407
Western Uplands	Waitomo	1,831,712	94,964	73,487	168,452	447	346	793	181	140	321
	Ruapehu	1,781,290	91,533	70,664	162,197	454	350	804	185	142	328
East Coast	Gisborne / Wairoa	1,811,258	94,340	73,386	167,727	405	315	720	162	126	288
Hawkes Bay	Napier / Hastings	2,213,479	112,703	87,854	200,557	511	398	909	188	146	334
	Central Hawkes Bay	3,205,317	158,728	127,621	286,348	672	540	1,212	221	177	398
Taranaki	New Plymouth	1,152,037	59,915	46,004	105,919	565	434	999	214	165	379
	Stratford	1,112,081	56,717	44,096	100,813	576	448	1,023	218	169	387
	South Taranaki	1,465,365	75,533	58,938	134,470	673	525	1,197	234	182	417
Manawatu	Wanganui	1,608,192	77,382	62,496	139,879	387	313	700	199	159	359
	Rangitikei	2,080,668	103,168	81,805	184,973	555	440	995	231	182	413
	Manawatu	1,812,643	89,546	70,902	160,448	576	456	1,033	229	182	411
	Palmerston North City	2,285,427	113,202	89,057	202,259	636	500	1,136	233	182	415
	Horowhenua	1,832,673	89,564	71,015	160,580	605	480	1,085	229	181	411
	Kapiti Coast / Upper Hutt	1,456,507	69,619	56,777	126,396	509	415	924	213	173	386
Wairarapa	Tararua	1,394,018	71,641	55,663	127,303	533	414	947	204	158	362
	Masterton	2,634,219	129,164	102,777	231,941	688	547	1,235	232	183	415
	Carterton	1,707,492	85,398	66,640	152,037	608	475	1,083	210	163	373
	South Wairarapa	1,875,576	96,657	75,217	171,875	575	447	1,022	196	152	348
North Island		1,646,198	82,939	64,829	147,768	547	427	973	206	160	366
Nelson / Marlborough	Marlborough	1,559,821	78,067	60,968	139,034	620	484	1,104	215	168	383
	Kaikoura	1,974,160	101,760	78,699	180,459	725	561	1,286	231	180	411
	Tasman/Nelson City	1,377,824	71,669	55,404	127,072	498	385	884	193	149	342
West Coast	Buller	1,403,725	72,622	56,353	128,976	435	337	772	194	149	343
	Grey	1,640,010	84,736	66,157	150,892	422	329	751	185	144	329
	Westland	1,344,820	71,341	54,914	126,255	406	313	719	199	153	352
North Canterbury	Hurunui	4,081,445	207,853	163,068	370,921	831	652	1,482	253	198	451
	Waimakariri	3,401,104	166,867	134,137	301,004	812	652	1,464	246	198	444
	Christchurch City	3,770,987	191,181	153,449	344,629	763	612	1,375	243	194	437
	Banks Peninsula	1,553,494	83,426	62,928	146,354	666	502	1,168	189	148	337
	Selwyn	3,396,577	171,830	136,657	308,487	800	637	1,437	231	184	415
	Ashburton	4,049,430	204,655	163,449	368,105	869	694	1,563	244	195	440
South Canterbury	Timaru	3,385,919	170,820	135,775	306,595	806	641	1,447	242	192	435
	Mackenzie	4,548,558	227,267	183,159	410,427	613	494	1,107	217	175	392
	Waimate	3,828,830	196,346	155,496	351,842	756	598	1,354	239	189	429
Otago	Waitaki	3,150,958	161,579	128,121	289,701	796	632	1,428	244	193	437
	Dunedin City	2,183,856	109,438	87,191	196,629	698	556	1,253	238	191	429
	Clutha	2,463,148	123,048	98,224	221,272	604	482	1,086	229	183	411
	Central Otago / Lakes	3,636,601	187,846	148,342	336,188	575	454	1,029	239	190	429
Southland	Gore	2,635,666	134,055	105,830	239,886	618	488	1,107	242	191	433
	Invercargill	2,886,002	145,781	115,793	261,574	667	530	1,197	254	202	456
	Southland	3,029,867	154,161	122,523	276,684	683	543	1,227	260	206	466
South Island		2,786,491	141,652	112,120	253,772	667	526	1,193	229	181	409
New Zealand		2,216,344	112,296	88,475	200,770	607	476	1,083	217	170	388

Note: Districts with fewer than four herds have been added to a neighbouring district to preserve anonymity

3.3 Operating structures

The main operating structures found on New Zealand dairy farms are owner operator, sharemilker and contract milker.

Owner operators are farmers who own and operate their own farms, or who employ a manager to operate the farm for a fixed wage. Owner-operators receive all the farm income, although they may pay wages. Owner operators comprise the largest group of all operating structures, being 56% of all herds.

Contract milkers (13.5% of herds) are contracted to milk a herd at a set price per kilogram of milksolids produced. The rate is set in part according to the amount of farm work done.

Sharemilking has traditionally been the first step to farm ownership. Sharemilking involves operating a farm on behalf of the farm owner for an agreed share of the farm receipts (as opposed to a set wage). Two types of sharemilking agreement are commonly used: Variable order sharemilking and herd-owning sharemilking agreements.

Herd-owning sharemilkers (also called 50/50 sharemilkers) own the herd and generally any equipment (other than the milking plant) needed to farm the property. The sharemilker is usually responsible for milk harvesting expenses, labour, stock-related expenses, and general farm work. The owner is usually responsible for expenses related to maintaining the property. The percentage quoted in a 50/50 sharemilking agreement usually refers to the proportion of milk income the sharemilker receives. While this percentage is most commonly 50%, it can range from 45% to 55%. Under the 50/50 agreement the sharemilker receives the agreed percentage of milk income plus the majority of income from stock sales, and the farm owner receives the remaining percentage of milk income.

Unlike the 50/50 agreement, where the owner may have little to do with farm management, a variable-order sharemilking agreement often sees the owner retain some involvement in management of the farm. The variable-order sharemilking agreement involves the farm owner retaining ownership of the herd and bearing more of the farm costs, such as animal health and breeding. The amount of farm work required by the sharemilker is determined by the individual agreement, with responsibility ranging from herd management only to carrying out all farm work.

The “Other/Unknown” category includes herds with unknown operating structure or herds with characteristics that do not match the description of their operating structure.

56% of all herds are operated as owner-operators
57% of all sharemilkers are 50/50 sharemilkers

The number of herds farmed, average herd size, effective area and number of cows per hectare for each of the main operating structures are shown in Table 3.5. In 2022/23, 56% (5,959) of New Zealand dairy herds operated under owner-operators, 29% (3,100) operated under a sharemilking agreement and 13.5% operated under a contract milkers agrement. Fifty-seven percent (1,778) of all sharemilkers have 50/50 agreements.

Operating structure	Number of herds	Percentage of herds	Average herd size	Average effective hectares	Average cows per effective hectare
Owner-operators	5,959	56.2	435	156	2.79
Contract milkers	1,429	13.5	461	160	2.92
Sharemilkers:
less than 20%	117	1.1	721	226	3.14
20-29%	485	4.6	504	175	2.93
30-49%	140	1.3	417	142	2.86
50/50	1,778	16.8	402	142	2.87
over 50%	580	5.5	461	164	2.89
All sharemilkers	3,100	29.3	501	170	2.95
Other/Unknown	113	1.1	500	187	2.73
All farms	10,601	100.0	441	157	2.84

Herd production in each of the main operating structure groups is shown in Table 3.6. The table shows that, on average, sharemilkers on agreements of less than 20% continue to have the highest production.

Operating structure	Average litres per herd	Average kg milkfat per herd	Average kg milksolids per herd	Average kg milkfat per effective hectare	Average kg milksolids per effective hectare	Average kg milkfat per cow	Average kg milksolids per cow
Owner-operators	1,894,699	95,694	170,992	608	1,085	216	384
Contract Milkers	2,113,123	107,639	191,879	683	1,216	233	415
Sharemilkers:
less than 20%	3,387,530	171,855	309,068	750	1,348	237	426
20-29%	2,222,417	112,910	201,975	653	1,165	222	395
30-49%	1,739,699	88,848	158,212	598	1,061	207	368
50/50	1,784,853	91,283	162,486	646	1,148	224	398
over 50%	2,134,973	107,898	193,136	663	1,185	230	411
All Sharemilkers	2,261,764	114,971	205,725	664	1,185	225	401
All farms	1,952,790	98,966	176,683	631	1,125	221	393

Changes to the operating structure in the last ten seasons have seen the percentage of sharemilkers decrease overall, from 34.2% in 2013/14 to 29.3% of herds in 2022/23. Table 3.7 shows the percentage of herds in each operating structure type, whereas Table 3.8 gives the actual number of herds. For the last five seasons, the percentage of herds with contract milkers is shown separately. Prior to this they were included in the Owner-operator category.

Operating structure	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Owner-operators	65.5	67.3	69.8	72.4	59.9	57.2	56.1	56.2	56.0	56.2
Contract Milkers					12.4	12.8	14.3	14.4	14.5	13.5
Sharemilkers:
less than 20%	1.7	1.5	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.1
20-29%	9.7	8.8	6.9	5.0	5.1	5.2	5.5	4.8	4.5	4.6
30-49%	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.4	1.3
50/50	18.5	17.1	16.8	16.4	15.9	16.9	16.6	16.6	16.8	16.8
over 50%	2.9	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.7	4.6	4.0	4.7	4.8	5.5
All sharemilkers	34.2	32.4	30.0	27.3	27.3	29.3	28.9	28.5	28.6	29.3
Other/Unknown	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.9	1.1

Operating structure	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Owner-operators	7,812	8,059	8,315	8,503	6,940	6,507	6,268	6,206	6,046	5,959
Contract Milkers					1,440	1,460	1,597	1,594	1,568	1,429
Sharemilkers:
less than 20%	206	179	153	134	122	138	148	117	115	117
20-29%	1,151	1,050	821	586	595	589	616	534	489	485
30-49%	177	171	174	157	161	159	159	148	149	140
50/50	2,201	2,050	2,001	1,925	1,848	1,919	1,857	1,831	1,817	1,778
over 50%	346	429	421	406	433	526	447	515	517	580
All sharemilkers	4,081	3,879	3,570	3,208	3,159	3,331	3,227	3,145	3,089	3,100
Other/Unknown	34	32	33	37	51	74	87	89	93	113
Total	11,927	11,970	11,918	11,748	11,590	11,372	11,179	11,034	10,796	10,601

Table 3.9 compares the number (and percentage) of owner-operators with sharemilkers by region in 2022/23. In the South Island there were more variable order sharemilkers than 50/50 sharemilkers, while the opposite was the case in the North Island.

Region	Owner operators	Owner operators %	Contract milkers	Contract milkers %	All share milkers	All share milkers %	50/50 share milkers	50/50 share milkers %	Variable order share milkers	Variable order share milkers %	Total herds (excl. unknown)	Total herds (excl. unknown) %
Northland	442	7.4	80	5.6	171	5.5	112	6.3	59	4.5	693	6.6
Auckland	161	2.7	35	2.4	104	3.4	67	3.8	37	2.8	300	2.9
Waikato	1,512	25.4	486	34.0	993	32.0	697	39.2	296	22.4	2,991	28.5
Bay of Plenty	270	4.5	72	5.0	127	4.1	78	4.4	49	3.7	469	4.5
Central Plateau	272	4.6	68	4.8	115	3.7	77	4.3	38	2.9	455	4.3
Western Uplands	44	0.7	9	0.6	32	1.0	16	0.9	16	1.2	85	0.8
East Coast	6	0.1	2	0.1	1	0.0	0	0.0	1	0.1	9	0.1
Hawkes Bay	48	0.8	6	0.4	10	0.3	8	0.4	2	0.2	64	0.6
Taranaki	820	13.8	205	14.3	453	14.6	253	14.2	200	15.1	1,478	14.1
Manawatu	320	5.4	61	4.3	101	3.3	53	3.0	48	3.6	482	4.6
Wairarapa	215	3.6	65	4.5	86	2.8	48	2.7	38	2.9	366	3.5
North Island	4,110	69.0	1,089	76.2	2,193	70.7	1,409	79.2	784	59.3	7,392	70.5
Nelson / Marlborough	134	2.2	17	1.2	39	1.3	21	1.2	18	1.4	190	1.8
West Coast	261	4.4	18	1.3	72	2.3	32	1.8	40	3.0	351	3.3
North Canterbury	510	8.6	110	7.7	257	8.3	87	4.9	170	12.9	877	8.4
South Canterbury	191	3.2	18	1.3	104	3.4	30	1.7	74	5.6	313	3.0
Otago	237	4.0	39	2.7	141	4.5	55	3.1	86	6.5	417	4.0
Southland	516	8.7	138	9.7	294	9.5	144	8.1	150	11.3	948	9.0
South Island	1,849	31.0	340	23.8	907	29.3	369	20.8	538	40.7	3,096	29.5
New Zealand	5,959	100.0	1,429	100.0	3,100	100.0	1,778	100.0	1,322	100.0	10,488	100.0

The number and percentage of owner-operators, contract milkers and sharemilkers by herd size is shown in Table 3.10. Herds in the range of 200-249 animals (which represent 12.7% of herds nationally) account for the highest percentage of herds in each known operating structure category. Owner-operators of herds with a size of 200-249 were the most common combination of operating structure and herdsize, with 777 herds.

Herd size	Owner operators	Owner operators %	Contract milkers	Contract milkers %	All share milkers	All share milkers %	50/50 share milkers	50/50 share milkers %	Variable order share milkers	Variable order share milkers %	Total herds (excl. unknown)	Total herds (excl. unknown) %
10-49	9	0.2	1	0.1	1	0.0	0	0.0	1	0.1	11	0.1
50-99	89	1.5	3	0.2	10	0.3	6	0.3	4	0.3	102	1.0
100-149	338	5.7	17	1.2	89	2.9	44	2.5	45	3.4	444	4.2
150-199	627	10.5	69	4.8	281	9.1	174	9.8	107	8.1	977	9.3
200-249	777	13.0	182	12.7	376	12.1	247	13.9	129	9.8	1,335	12.7
250-299	575	9.6	162	11.3	334	10.8	224	12.6	110	8.3	1,071	10.2
300-349	544	9.1	157	11.0	350	11.3	218	12.3	132	10.0	1,051	10.0
350-399	425	7.1	126	8.8	251	8.1	156	8.8	95	7.2	802	7.6
400-449	411	6.9	121	8.5	241	7.8	148	8.3	93	7.0	773	7.4
450-499	308	5.2	81	5.7	170	5.5	84	4.7	86	6.5	559	5.3
500-549	273	4.6	101	7.1	163	5.3	104	5.8	59	4.5	537	5.1
550-599	225	3.8	71	5.0	126	4.1	72	4.0	54	4.1	422	4.0
600-649	219	3.7	69	4.8	136	4.4	75	4.2	61	4.6	424	4.0
650-699	156	2.6	46	3.2	96	3.1	44	2.5	52	3.9	298	2.8
700-749	129	2.2	42	2.9	72	2.3	25	1.4	47	3.6	243	2.3
750-799	125	2.1	26	1.8	67	2.2	34	1.9	33	2.5	218	2.1
800-849	123	2.1	23	1.6	74	2.4	29	1.6	45	3.4	220	2.1
850-899	91	1.5	28	2.0	46	1.5	21	1.2	25	1.9	165	1.6
900-949	93	1.6	18	1.3	46	1.5	18	1.0	28	2.1	157	1.5
950-999	73	1.2	16	1.1	36	1.2	14	0.8	22	1.7	125	1.2
1000-1099	109	1.8	24	1.7	51	1.6	19	1.1	32	2.4	184	1.8
1100-1199	80	1.3	20	1.4	30	1.0	9	0.5	21	1.6	130	1.2
1200-1499	112	1.9	20	1.4	34	1.1	9	0.5	25	1.9	166	1.6
1500+	48	0.8	6	0.4	20	0.6	4	0.2	16	1.2	74	0.7
Total/Avg	5,959	100.0	1,429	100.0	3,100	100.0	1,778	100.0	1,322	100.0	10,488	100.0

3.4 Breed breakdown

Three breeds of dairy cattle dominate the dairy cow inseminations carried out in New Zealand: Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, and Holstein-Friesian/Jersey crossbreed. Historically, these insemination counts have been pulled from the LIC National Database. From the 2021/22 season onwards, counts are based on records in the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database (DIGAD, https://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/animal-evaluation/animal-database/). Breed categorisation has also changed to now match the Animal Evaluation (AE) breed classification used by New Zealand Animal Evaluation Limited (NZAEL).

The Jersey breed dominated the national dairy herd until the late 1960s. By 1970, Holstein-Friesian was the dominant dairy breed in New Zealand, because of changes in farm management practices. Holstein-Friesian/Jersey Crossbreed now makes up the largest proportion of the national dairy herd.

The percentages of the major dairy breed categories for New Zealand and each region are shown in Graphs 3.2 and 3.3. Percentages are given for Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Holstein-Friesian/Jersey Crossbreed and Ayrshire cows, with the remaining breeds and crossbreeds grouped into “Other”. Holstein-Friesian/Jersey crossbreed is the prevalent breed category in all regions. The Hawkes Bay/Manawatu/Wairarapa region continues to have the highest percentage of Holstein-Friesian cows (35.6%) followed by Northland/Auckland (30.5%). West Coast/Nelson/Marlborough has the highest proportion of Jerseys (13%) followed by Northland/Auckland and Waikato/Western Upland (11.5% each). Marlborough/Canterbury has the highest proportion of Holstein-Friesian/Jersey Crossbreeds (66.5%), followed by Otago/Southland (64.3%).