New Zealand dairy farming – timeline

Dairy farming has changed significantly over the centuries from hand milking to machine milking. The size of farms and the expectations on farmers have also changed with time. Could fully automated farming systems be the way of the future? Below is a brief history of dairy farming in New Zealand.

1814 – First cows in New Zealand

Samuel Marsden brings a bull and two heifers to New Zealand. These cows are milked by hand in sheds.

1847 – First export of cheese

Cheese was exported from Wellington – 40lb worth £2 at that time.

1882 – Refrigeration

Refrigerated shipping begins, with the Dunedin taking milk and butter to England – a trip that took 98 days.

Early 1890s – Early technological advances

Cream separators are installed in cow sheds and machine milking begins with the introduction of electricity. Milk factories are built.

1904 – Milk powder

The first milk powder is produced.

1923 – Dairy Board

The Dairy Board was formed, this controlled the export of all New Zealand dairy products and included responsibility for marketing. This helped drive the growth of export sales.

1938 – Electric fences

Farmers begin to use electric fences on their farms.

1945 – State of the industry

There are 1.7 million cows, 40,000 farmers and 409 dairy factories in New Zealand.

1949 – Commercial artificial insemination

In a world first, a commercial artificial insemination service is started in Taranaki and Waikato.

1951 – Milk tankers

The first milk tankers appear.

1952 – Herringbone shed

The herringbone shed is invented. This shed allows a much larger number of cows to be milked at once. The farmer works in a pit below and no longer has to keep bending down to attach and detach cups.

1969 – Increase in dairy farms

There are 2.3 million cows and 25,000 farmers, and the number of dairy factories drops to 229.

1969 – The rotary shed

The rotary shed is invented by Merv Hicks in Taranaki. This is a round shed that has a rotating platform. It allows even more cows to be milked in similar timeframes as before.

1994 – More cows, fewer farmers

There are 2.7 million cows, 15,000 farmers and 27 factories.

2001 – A transgenic cow

AgResearch generates its first transgenic cows. These cows produce modified or ‘designer’ milk. Find out more here.

2001 – Farm size increase

The average farm size is now 105 hectares (ha) and 286 cows, compared to 72 ha and 166 cows in 1990. There is not enough skilled labour to meet farm needs.

2001 – Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001

The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 is passed, leading to the formation of Fonterra, New Zealand’s largest company.

2001 – Robotic milking

The first Kiwi cow is milked by the robot Merlin in 2001 at DairyNZ’s Greenfield Project farm.

Find out more about the Greenfield Project.

2003 – Dairying and Clean Streams Accord

In response to environmental concerns about farming, the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord is established with the goal to reduce the level of water pollution.

2005 – Dairy farm numbers

There are now 12,786 dairy farms with a total area of 2.1 million hectares. The 5,152,000 dairy cows in New Zealand produce 1,213,000,000 kg of milk solids this year.

2008 – Greenfield Project farm closes

In November DairyNZ announces the closure of the Greenfield site as it has proven that automated milking can be successful within the New Zealand pastoral system

2017 – Size of the industry

New Zealand’s milking cow population is now 4.8 million, and dairy farming is a major part of the New Zealand economy. While there has been a decline in cow numbers, milk quantities remain stable due to cow breeds being more efficient at converting grass into milk.

2018 – Value of dairy exports

New Zealand dairy exports are valued at approximately NZ$16.667 billion. The top five dairy export products are whole milk powder, butter, cheese, infant formula and skim milk powder.

2019 – Shift to crossbred cows

Farmers are increasingly shifting to crossbred cows to benefit from the efficiencies of hybrid vigour and to achieve the best traits from the two main dairy breeds. As at June 2019, 48.5% of cows are Holstein-Friesian/Jersey crossbreed and 33.1% of cows are Holstein-Friesian, 8.6% are Jersey cows and 9.8% of cows are other breeds.