Sheep on New Zealand farms
By region, as at June 2024, thousands
| Region | Number of sheep |
|---|---|
| Auckland | None |
| Bay of Plenty | 232,472 |
| Canterbury | 4,189,852 |
| Gisborne | 1,233,096 |
| Hawke's Bay | 2,656,857 |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 4,363,196 |
| Marlborough | 374,416 |
| Nelson | 1,734 |
| Northland | 181,858 |
| Otago | 4,059,897 |
| Southland | 3,034,116 |
| Taranaki | 435,204 |
| Tasman | 188,409 |
| Waikato | 1,231,167 |
| Wellington | 1,090,815 |
| West Coast | 28,534 |
Definitions
‘Farm’ denotes one or more blocks of land, managed as a single operation, engaged in agricultural activity. Activities include livestock farming, horticulture, viticulture, nurseries, forestry, growing grain and seed crops, and land that could be used for these purposes.
For more information
Limitations of the data
All results from these collections are subject to non-sampling error, and sampling error.
The figures from the agricultural production surveys may differ from those produced from other sources, such as the National Exotic Forestry Description Survey produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Stock Number Survey from Beef and Lamb New Zealand Limited, and Dairy Statistics from Livestock Improvement Corporation Limited/Dairy NZ. These surveys use different survey frames and designs.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by Regional Council (Annual-Jun) 2024
Webpage:
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Industry sectors > Agriculture > Variable by Regional Council (Annual-Jun)'. All non-discontinued variables were selected for this dataset.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by Regional Council (Annual-Jun) 2024
From the dataset Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by Regional Council (Annual-Jun) 2024, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 4-38
- Columns: 2-721
- Provided: 8,820 data points
This data forms the table Agriculture - Agricultural production measures by region 1990–2024.
Dataset originally released on:
May 04, 2025
About this dataset
The 2024 Agriculture Production Survey is part of an ongoing programme of agricultural production statistics conducted in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries. Previous sample surveys were held in 2003–06, 2008–11, 2013–16, 2018–2021 and 2023 with censuses in 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022.
Agriculture Production Survey measures farming operations below the enterprise level.
Method of collection/Data provider
The agricultural production surveys include all units identified on Statistics NZ's Business Register as having agricultural activity.
The survey population for the agricultural production surveys is all businesses engaged in 'agricultural production activity' (including livestock, cropping, horticulture, and forestry), or which own land intended for agricultural activity. The survey population includes businesses engaged in agriculture or forestry production as a secondary activity.
The final overall response rate for the Agriculture Production Survey 2024 was 72.9 percent. This was a lower response rate compared with the target response rate of 84 percent. This has resulted in some higher sample errors and imputation levels than previous surveys.
The 2024 survey had a sample size of 24,300 geographic locations.