Beef cattle numbers on the rise – news story
16 April 2026
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.
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).