Urban sprawl swallows farms

01-03-2008 | Not Specified

Urban growth and lifestyle blocks have swallowed up a lot of land around the main centres in the Waikato, says Ian Jamieson, Meat & Wool New Zealand, Waikato.

Dairy conversion has also accounted for many of the better contoured sheep and beef farms.

Ian says the number of Waikato/King Country Class 5 farms (Intensive North Island beef finishing) has decreased from 850 down to 360 since 1993-94 - mainly because of the dairy boom.

The number of Class 3 (Extensive North Island hill country) farms in the region has also dropped from
350 to 300 in the past 15 years, with many going into forestry during
the early 1990s.

"As the price of land continues to increase we've seen more land going into dairying at the expense of sheep and beef numbers. And we've seen quite a bit of land that isn't suitable for dairying itself going into dairy support."

But this doesn't mean sheep and beef farming in the region is a sunset industry, says Meat & Wool regional manager Boyd Weir. He says there are a lot of positive signs, including a declining world sheep population, that suggest better times ahead.

"Not everyone wants to milk cows, so provided it is profitable there are always going to be people who like to do the sheep and beef thing."

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