Sheep Farming, Orchards Give Way to Grapes

By BLOOMBERG, Simon

AT A GLANCE Livestock numbers in Tasman recorded by the Agricultural Production Census in 2002 and 2007 2002 2007 Numbers Numbers % change Sheep 356,000 348,000 -2.2 Dairy cows 67,000 64,000 -5.4 Beef cattle 49,000 51,000 +4.9 Deer 32,000 21,000 -35.9 ——- ————- Sheep farms and apple orchards in the Tasman region are giving way to the march of vineyards, the latest Statistic New Zealand agricultural production census shows.

The figures released last week show that the area of land planted in wine grapes in Tasman increased 51.5 percent from 530ha in 2002 to 810ha last year. That reflected a national trend, with a 71 percent increase to 29,650ha over the same period.

Nelson Winegrowers chairman and Waimea Estates winemaker Mike Brown said the two big factors driving the growth in this region were increased sales of wines and the demand for grapes from wineries in Marlborough.

"Nelson wines certainly do well for their size in competitions but the fact that medium-sized wineries are growing larger and locating export markets is having a big impact on sales."

Mr Brown said the amount of land in wine grapes in Tasman was projected to continue increasing over the next three years. New Zealand Wine Growers figures, based on annual vineyard surveys, predicted increases of 2 percent this year, 6 percent in 2009 and 2 percent in 2010.

However, Mr Brown said those figures were likely to be an underestimate because of growers not returning surveys. He was aware "anecdotally" of a number of big plantings that were planned, boosting the area of plantings significantly.

The biggest regional increase of 128 percent was recorded in Marlborough, where there is now 17,170ha of grapes.

In contrast to wine grapes, the area of land planted in apples in Tasman declined 18.1 percent from 2980ha in 2002 to 2440ha last year. Kiwifruit remained relatively constant in Tasman, increasing 6.1 percent to 530ha.

Pipfruit New Zealand chairman and Lower Moutere orchardist Ian Palmer was not surprised at the decline, saying it reflected reduced returns. Apple-growers were opting to sell marginal land, especially along the Coastal Highway, while some growers nearing retirement age had decided against going through another "development cycle" on their orchards.

However, Mr Palmer said production "may have only dropped by 5 percent" because growers were producing more apples per hectare. He also predicted the industry would consolidate over the next few years and the decline would slow.

"A lot of growers are more optimistic than they have been for some time. The US dollar is coming back and the Euro is good for us – hopefully we are turning the corner."

Another significant change in land use was reflected in sheep numbers in Tasman, which decreased 2.2 percent to 348,000, and in Nelson, 31.1 percent to just 8000. That trend was mirrored nationally, with a 2.8 percent decline in sheep numbers from 39.572 million to 38.460 million.

Nelson Federated Farmers former meat and wool chairman Roy Bensemann, who farms near the Sherry River, said the decline in sheep numbers was a result of reduced returns for lambs and wool.

Sheep farmers were looking at other land uses, with many switching to dairy grazing and dairy support to increase their incomes, Mr Bensemann said. Selling land for lifestyle blocks and dairy conversions had a smaller impact on sheep numbers.

"Sheep farmers have traditionally relied on wool and lamb returns and wool has been dropping substantially over the years in real terms so we have been relying more on lambs," he said.

"Lamb prices were good four years ago but the last three years they’ve dropped to the extent that it’s falling below the cost of production."

Mr Bensemann said lamb prices had risen "$4 to $5" this year but costs had gone up too, "so in real terms there’s been no lift".

"If there are other options for farmers to go into, and sheep farming doesn’t pick up next season, there will be more farmers go out of sheep."

In Tasman, the number of dairy cows declined 5.4 percent, beef cattle increased 4.9 percent, and deer showed a 35.9 percent drop from 32,000 to 21,000.

Fonterra top of the south manager Rod O’Beirne said the decline in diary cattle was not significant and was probably a result of farmers selling up because of a slightly lower payout between 2002 and last year.

Several farms on the Waimea Plains and in Golden Bay had also been subdivided because they were more valuable as lifestyle blocks. However, Mr O’Beirne said that with the dairy payout increasing, he expected the decline in dairy cattle numbers to be reversed.

Nationally, dairy cattle rose 1.9 percent to 5.261 million, beef cattle declined 2.2 percent to 4.394 million, and deer numbers fell 15.3 percent to 1.396 million.

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