NZ's dairy cow population hits 5m

The total cow population in the 2014/15 season was 5.02 million. Photo / iStock

New Zealand's dairy cow population hit 5 million for the first time in the 2014/15 year - up 1 million from the 2007/8 season, Dairy NZ said.

The total cow population in the 2014/15 season was 5.02 million, an increase of 1.9 per cent over the previous season, although the number since the then is likely to have fallen because of higher than normal rate of culling, DairyNZ senior economist Matthew Newman said.

Dairy NZ, in its latest release of dairy statistics, said total effective hectares in dairy - support blocks excluded - were 1.75 million - an increase of about 30,000 ha on the previous season.

In 2014/15, dairy companies processed 21.3 billion litres of milk containing 1.89 billion kilograms of milksolids.

Total milksolids processed increased by 3.6 per cent from the 1.83 billion kilograms processed in the previous season. This was a record level of milk production and 56 per cent higher than 2004/5.

Between 1980/81 and 2007/08 total herd numbers declined at an average rate of about 170 herds per season. However, the total number of herds in the 2014/15 season increased by 43 to 11,970 -- the seventh consecutive season of small increases in herd numbers.

The average herd size was 419 in 2014/15, up 6 cows on the previous season. The average herd size has tripled in the last 30 seasons, and has increased by over 100 cows in the last 10 seasons.

Expansion of the dairy herd in the South Island has assisted the increase in average herd sizes, DairyNZ said. The majority of dairy herds (74 per cent) are located in the North Island, with the greatest concentration (29 per cent) situated in the Waikato.

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