Sector Overview

As Aotearoa New Zealand’s only subtropical region, Taitokerau Northland’s climate offers a key competitive advantage for its wider agricultural sector, which is dominated by pastoral farming - predominantly dairy, beef and sheep farming. Collectively  dairy, beef and sheep farming contributed $497 million towards Taitokerau Northland's GDP in 2022 and employed 3,789 people.

The sector is also well supported by associated food manufacturing plants, with large meat works operating in the Far North (Affco) and Kaipara Districts (Silver Fern Farms) and dairy processing taking place in the Whangārei District (Fonterra). In terms of contribution to GDP and employment, dairy and met manufacturing collectively contributed $95.3million and employed 1,300 people, respectively in 2022.  

Combined the pastoral sector and associated manufacturing accounts for 39.2% of the total value of Taitokerau Northland’s exports.

If you want to explore opportunities in the agriculture sector within Northand contact our Investment Team

Regional Projects

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Extension 350

Extension 350 is a programme that was designed to help our Taitokerau Northland farmers succeed, not just with a healthier bottom line, but with a healthier environment and farming community too.

Extension 350

Industry Resources & Support

Infometrics Dairy Industry Statistics

Infometrics sources information from the “New Zealand Dairy Statistics” which is a publication co-owned by DairyNZ and LIC, and supplements it with its own calculations. 

Infometrics Dairy Industry Statistics