Beef cattle numbers increased in 2025, while the number of sheep and dairy cattle dipped slightly, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
Final figures from the 2025 Agricultural Production Survey showed that the number of beef cattle was up 4 percent (153,000) from the previous year to 3.8 million at 30 June 2025.
In the same period, the number of dairy cattle fell by 1 percent (87,000) to 5.7 million and the number of sheep fell by 1 percent (331,000) to 23.3 million.
At 30 June 2025, New Zealand had 7.0 million hectares of grassland (excluding tussock), little change from the previous year.
| At 30 June | Total dairy cattle | Total beef cattle |
| 2002 | 5162000 | 4491000 |
| 2003 | 5102000 | 4627000 |
| 2004 | 5152000 | 4447000 |
| 2005 | 5087000 | 4424000 |
| 2006 | 5170000 | 4439000 |
| 2007 | 5261000 | 4394000 |
| 2008 | 5578000 | 4137000 |
| 2009 | 5861000 | 4101000 |
| 2010 | 5915000 | 3949000 |
| 2011 | 6175000 | 3846000 |
| 2012 | 6446000 | 3734000 |
| 2013 | 6484000 | 3699000 |
| 2014 | 6698000 | 3670000 |
| 2015 | 6486000 | 3547000 |
| 2016 | 6619000 | 3533000 |
| 2017 | 6530000 | 3616000 |
| 2018 | 6386000 | 3721000 |
| 2019 | 6261000 | 3890000 |
| 2020 | 6200000 | 3883000 |
| 2021 | 6185000 | 3965000 |
| 2022 | 5930000 | 3821000 |
| 2023 | 5885000 | 3654000 |
| 2024 | 5837000 | 3679000 |
| 2025 | 5750000 | 3833000 |
In the last 10 years, the number of sheep fell by 20 percent (5.9 million), and the total number of dairy cattle fell by 11 percent (736,000). In contrast, the number of beef cattle increased by 8 percent (285,000).
"While there has been a substantial drop in the number of dairy cattle compared with 10 years ago, total export volumes of dairy products have increased," agricultural statistics spokesperson Tehseen Islam said.
There were 3.3 million tonnes of dairy exports for the year ending December 2025, an increase of 10 percent (305,000 tonnes) compared with export volumes 10 years ago.
In the last 10 years, the total area in grassland (excluding tussock) fell by 9 percent (712,000 hectares). This coincided with less livestock on the remaining agricultural land.
Top export destinations and products
New Zealand exported $80.5 billion worth of goods to the rest of the world in the year ended December 2025. The top three destinations were China (25 percent), the United States (12 percent), and Australia (13 percent).
Agriculture continues to be a mainstay of New Zealand's export industry. Of New Zealand's total $80.5 billion exports for the year to 31 December 2025, the top four export products by value were:
- milk powder, butter, and cheese at 30 percent ($24.2 billion)
- meat and edible offal at 13 percent ($10.3 billion)
- fruit at 8 percent ($6.1 billion)
- logs, wood, and wood articles at 6 percent ($5.1 billion).
See Overseas merchandise trade: December 2025 for the latest trade statistics.
