Ryan Bridge talks to Paul Spoonley about NZ's population and future concerns.
Video / Herald NOW
In 32 years, Hawke’s Bay has lost more than two million sheep.
Sheep tallies from Stats NZ highlight a drop from just below 5 million (4,995,476) in 1990 to below three million (2,788,789) in 2022.
Stats NZ figures also show the number of farms in the region havealso dropped from 3923 in 2002 to 2427 in 2022.
Hawke’s Bay Federated Farmers president Jim Galloway says his group has now launched a national “Save Our Sheep” campaign, calling for urgent action to halt the potential collapse of New Zealand’s sheep industry.
He said farmers were at a crossroads between practicality and profitability, and something needed to be done.
“Losing a million sheep a year in New Zealand, it’s looking like it’s going to become an industry that is not sustainable.”
A Beef + Lamb report found that sheep numbers in the East Coast, which includes Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, were down 2.4% in the year to June 30, 2024, to an estimated 5.92 million head.
The reduction in flock size was driven by poor pricing for sheep, weather conditions, cashflow management, focus on rebuilding infrastructure and farmland and greater stock losses due to animal health, the report said.
Save our Sheep wants to see a halt in the decline in sheep numbers. Photo / Michael Craig
Sheep had become largely only useful for their meat rather than having a dual purpose for wool, so the profitability had been harder to keep up, Galloway said.
“It’s another reason why farmers have been selling.”
He suspected the number of farms and sheep in Hawke’s Bay would decline further in 2025.
He said the reduction in hill country land couldn’t all be attributed to farm-to-forestry conversions and the Emissions Trading Scheme, but believed it played a massive part.
“What we are looking at is trying to make sure the Government settings are not disadvantaging farming over forestry.”
In one generation, New Zealand has lost over two-thirds of the national flock, reducing from over 70 million sheep in 1982 to fewer than 25 million sheep today.
Are pines to blame for fewer sheep?
President of the NZ Institute of Forestry, James Treadwell, said forestry was being used as a scapegoat by farmers, and the national reduction in sheep numbers couldn’t be attributed to pines.
“This whole concept that all these land use changes are the result of forestry is blatantly untrue, and it is mainly as a result of dairy.”
He said the amount of forestry nationally equated to the same amount as 20 years ago, based on what was cleared, converted, and planted.
Pine trees have come under fire in recent years and blamed by some for the reduction in sheep numbers.
“There is a false sense out there, and I understand how people believe it, but it is not true.”
He said there needed to be a shift in New Zealanders’ perspective on land use to diversify and maximise profits.
“The beauty with New Zealand is we have always been able to change land use so the owner has been able to do what they want to do.”
He said changes at Government level would not only impact forestry, but also other land owners who wanted to retire land unsuitable for farming.
Treadwell said it was a misunderstanding that there had been an increase in pines planted for offsetting carbon.
“Most of the new trees that are being planted are being planted for timber, and yes, we will claim the carbon because we can ... but they are going to be harvested and replanted.”
Government reaction to Save our Sheep
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said Federated Farmers’ campaign highlighted why the Government was taking action to stop the wholesale loss of productive farmland to pine trees.
He said in December 2024, the Government announced a ban on full farm-to-forest conversions, and legislation would be passed by October and backdated to that announcement, to stop blanket ETS planting on productive farmland to give sheep and beef farmers a fair go.
“Under the last Government, sheep and beef farms across regions like Hawke’s Bay were bought out by carbon speculators, driven by careless and unbalanced ETS settings.”
“We’re not anti-forestry, but it can’t come at the expense of high-quality, safe and sustainable food production.
McClay said they wanted to level the playing field and back farmers “to grow the best lamb and mutton in the world — and sell it to the world”.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
