Agriculture in New Zealand: A Butter Fat Arcadia? (8 pages)

Vigorous bush clearance prepared 51% of New Zealand's land for exotic grasses. Paddock and sheds on the West Coast at the Otuhie River west of Collingwood, Tasman.

Introduction

'More than any other developed country, New Zealand's economy, people and environment depend on the success of our land-based industries' (Ministry for Primary Industries).

This was going to be a single-page entry but it has expanded as I have learnt more about New Zealand's agriculture.

The importance of agriculture to the economy of New Zealand cannot be over-estimated. Agriculture in New Zealand accounts for 12% of GDP agriculture and, together with the food and forestry sectors, generates 70% of New Zealand's merchandise export earnings (Ministry for Primary Industries). New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of dairy products accounting for a third of global trade (Wikipedia: NZ Agriculture).

Agriculture in the UK accounts for just 0.6% of national value added (a slightly different measure than GDP). Even in Greece and Portugal agriculture only accounts for 3.3% of value added and 2.4% of GDP respectively. Argentina derives 9% of GDP from agriculture and Chile 4.9% (Wikipedia).

New Zealand then is quite exceptional amongst the so-called 'developed countries' to be so dependent on agriculture.

God's own. The recreation ofa British Arcadia in a foreign land: near Wainui Falls, east of Pohara in Golden Bay — God's own: the recreation of a British Arcadia in a foreign land. Near Wainui Falls, east of Pohara in Golden Bay, Tasman.

The pages in this section explore various aspects of the development of New Zealand's agriculture.

The first page looks briefly at the grassland, ownership and freezing-technology revolutions that transformed New Zealand and its 'countryside'.

The second page looks at the role of the colonial exploitation of rock phosphate from the tiny Pacific island of Nauru in this process.

The third page looks at the free-market revolution wrought on New Zealand's farming community by so -called 'Rogernomics' in the 1980s.

The fourth page looks at the phenomenal growth of the dairy industry and the 'white gold' revolution.

The fifth page looks at some of the environmental consequences of the growth and rapid intensification of the diary industry.

And the sixth page looks at the strengths and weaknesses of New Zealand's agriculture industry and the management of those risks and possible threats to New Zealand's cherished image as a place of 'green' and 'clean ' agriculture, food products and tourism.

Characteristic farms shed with big sky on the Hauraki Plains, Waikato. Big drainage schemes greatly reduced wetlands and increased productive agricultural land — Oxide red sheds with big sky on the Hauraki Plains, Waikato. Big drainage schemes greatly reduced wetlands and increased productive agricultural land.

Super-15 Rugby advertising and the fly-strike phenomena

So New Zealand is peculiarly dependent on its agriculture. And the big growth sector at the moment is the dried milk trade with Asia and China in particular.

That was brought home to me on the night before our flight out of Auckland back to Blighty when we stayed in the airport's Novotel. Rung out by our speedy circumnavigation of the South Island we took a room service meal and watched a Super 15 (the inter-Southern-Hemisphere club rugby competition) match on the TV.

The centrality of agriculture to the country, or at least the bond between farming and rugby, was vividly illustrated.

In the half-time ad break there were not one, but two adverts for anti-flystrike treatments for dairy cows.

Milking parlour in the sandhills of Awhitu south west of Auckland.

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