As of June 2024, there were approximately ***** million sheep in New Zealand, a slight decrease from the previous year in which there were around ***** million sheep in the country. The number of sheep in the country has declined over the past decade.  Sheep farming New Zealand was once known for its disproportionate number of sheep per population. However, since the 1970s, the country’s sheep population has fallen drastically. A major factor that has contributed to this decline is sheep farming land lost to other purposes such as urban sprawl, dairy farming, and horticulture farming. The number of lamb livestock has similarly seen a decline. Consumption and exports Sheep in New Zealand are bred for wool and meat, including mutton and lamb. New Zealand is a significant player in the global wool market. The country exports strong wool to leading textile manufacturers around the world. However, along with sheep numbers, wool production has decreased significantly across New Zealand. In terms of domestic meat consumption, the per capita consumption of sheep meat in New Zealand was forecast to decline into the next decade. When looking at trade, the leading country for sheep meat exports from New Zealand was China, with the United Kingdom and the United States trailing behind.

As of June 2024, there were approximately 21.12 million lamb livestock in New Zealand, an increase from the previous year where there were around 21.04 million lambs marked or tailed in the country. The number of lamb livestock has decreased significantly compared to the beginning of the measured period, 2014.

DATA SOURCE: Statistics New Zealand Agricultural Production Survey (APS)

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "livestock numbers" indicator [available at https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/livestock-numbers]

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This indicator measures the numbers of farmed dairy cattle, beef cattle, deer, and sheep over time nationally, by region, and territorial authority, and approximates the density of these livestock across New Zealand.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

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New Zealand Number of Livestock: Sheep: North Island: Waikato data was reported at 1,478.921 Head th in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,666.388 Head th for 2016. New Zealand Number of Livestock: Sheep: North Island: Waikato data is updated yearly, averaging 2,506.265 Head th from Jun 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,471.206 Head th in 1990 and a record low of 1,478.921 Head th in 2017. New Zealand Number of Livestock: Sheep: North Island: Waikato data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics New Zealand. The data is categorized under Global Database’s New Zealand – Table NZ.B001: Number of Livestock: By Region.

As of June 2024, there were approximately **** million beef cattle in New Zealand, a slight decrease from the previous year, when there were around **** million beef cattle in the country. The number of beef cattle, including bulls, steers, and cows fluctuated during the measured period. Livestock farming industry in New Zealand New Zealand is well known for its superior livestock industry, especially in sheep and beef production. While the large sheep population in New Zealand has historical significance, it has declined significantly during the last ten years. The decline can be attributed to numerous factors, including the conversion of sheep farming land for alternative purposes such as urban expansion, the expansion of dairy farming, and the development of horticulture farming. Apart from sheep, there has also been a decrease in the number of lamb cattle. New Zealand’s dairy farming industry The dairy industry is vital to the country’s broader agricultural sector. New Zealand’s cows produce milk processed into various dairy products, consumed locally and internationally. Thus, the dairy industry accounts for a significant amount of New Zealand's export revenue. The environmental challenges facing dairy producers nationwide have gained increasing attention from the public and environmental organizations. The degradation of water quality and greenhouse gas emissions associated with dairy cattle production are two key issues being discussed.

This statistic depicts the number of breeding sheep on Maori farms across New Zealand from 2008 to 2019. As of June 2019, there were approximately 602.7 thousand breeding sheep livestock on Maori farms in New Zealand, a decrease from the previous year where there were around 613 thousand breeding sheep livestock.

Livestock numbers reflect changes in the number of farmed beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep across New Zealand. Livestock farming is a widespread land use in this country. It is important to monitor livestock numbers, because concentrated numbers, or large increases in numbers, can affect the indigenous biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

File contains total livestock numbers by region for each year over the period 1994–2015

This data measures the numbers of farmed livestock (dairy and beef cattle, deer, and sheep) over time across New Zealand.

Livestock farming is a widespread land use in New Zealand and is a large contributor to our economy. High livestock numbers and the distribution of livestock across land environments can affect indigenous biodiversity and soil health (eg through erosion, habitat loss, compaction, and nutrient concentration). Water quality can also be adversely affected, as nutrients, sediment, and bacteria from urine and faeces can leach or run off the land into rivers, lakes, and groundwaters. This can affect the health of the aquatic ecosystem, as well as recreation and cultural values associated with rivers and lakes.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Focusing on the forecast period: The consumption per capita of sheep meat in New Zealand was forecast to continuously decrease by *** kilograms per capita (-*****%) within the next years. Therefore, the consumption per capita is estimated to shrink to **** kilograms per capita in 2031.Consumption per capita is the amount of a certain commodity used per person. The figure is derived by dividing total consumption by total population.Find more key insights for the consumption per capita in countries like Australia.

In 2020, the number of sheep livestock on Maori farms in New Zealand amounted to approximately ***** thousand. The figure shows a slight decrease from ***** thousand in the previous year.

Livestock farming is a widespread land use in New Zealand and contributes to our economy. High livestock numbers and the distribution of livestock across land environments can affect indigenous biodiversity and soil health (eg compaction). High livestock numbers and density in some land environments can also affect water quality, as nitrogen and bacteria from urine and faeces can leach into groundwater or run off the land into rivers and lakes.

We measure changes in the numbers of farmed livestock (eg beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep) across regions in New Zealand.

Several factors have negatively impacted the Wool Scouring industry over recent years. Wool prices have fallen, global demand has slumped and competition from inexpensive synthetic alternatives has intensified. Over the past five years, domestic and export wool prices have declined in real terms, reducing commissions for wool scourers and discouraging wool production, which lowers demand for wool scouring. Tensions between China and the United States have slowed China's textile manufacturing sector, decreasing China's wool purchases from New Zealand and reducing wool scouring demand. The reduction in New Zealand's sheep population as land shifts from grassland farming to forestry has lowered wool supply and activity for scourers. The industry saw revenue climb when wool grease was used in COVID-19 vaccine production, which temporarily widened profit margins. However, as vaccine demand decreases, this revenue stream has dwindled, causing profitability to recede, although it remains above pre-pandemic levels. Overall, revenue is expected to have fallen at an annualised 3.7% over the five years through 2024-25, to $301.5 million. This trend includes an anticipated 2.6% drop in 2024-25. WoolWorks dominates the industry as the only commission-based wool scourer. Wool scouring primarily involves fixed costs that don’t fluctuate with output volumes, which makes it crucial for scourers to attract market share so they can maximise capacity utilisation and support profitability. This creates high barriers for new entrants, allowing WoolWorks to maintain its dominance. The industry faces competition from synthetic substitutes and exporters who bypass scouring and export unscoured wool. The Wool Scouring industry’s future remains uncertain despite efforts to focus on sustainability and position wool as an eco-friendly fibre. The increasing global focus on environmental sustainability is set to position wool as a biodegradable alternative to synthetic fibres. However, this may only slightly slow the decline in wool scourers' revenue, as synthetic fibres will maintain high demand because of their inexpensive pricepoint. Export markets are set to recover slowly from pandemic-related impacts. Revenue is forecast to dip at an annualised 1.7% over the five years through 2029-30, reaching $277.0 million.

The Norwegian White sheep (NWS) and New Zealand Terminal Sire Composite (NZC) sheep breeds have been developed based on crossing of multiple breeds, mainly of Northern European origin. A close genetic relationship between these populations could enable across-country genomic evaluations. The main objectives of this study were to assess the genetic connectedness between Norwegian and New Zealand sheep populations and estimate numerous genetic diversity metrics for these two populations. A total of 792 NWS and 16,912 NZC animals were genotyped using a high-density Illumina SNP chip panel (∼606K SNPs). The NZC animals were grouped based on their breed composition as: Finn, Lamb Supreme, Primera, Texel, “Other Dual Purpose”, and “Other Terminal Sire”. The average level of linkage disequilibrium ranged from 0.156 (for Primera) to 0.231 (for Finn). The lowest consistency of gametic phase was estimated between NWS and Finn (0.397), and between NWS and Texel (0.443), respectively. Similar consistency of gametic phase was estimated between NWS and the other NZC populations (∼ 0.52). For all composite sheep populations analyzed in this study, the majority of runs of homozygosity (ROH) segments identified had short length (

As of June 2020, there were approximately *** thousand lamb livestock on Maori-owned farms in New Zealand. In the previous year, the figure stood at around ***** thousand.

Background: Merino and Merino-derived sheep breeds have been widely distributed across the world, both as purebred and admixed populations. They represent an economically and historically important genetic resource which over time has been used as the basis for the development of new breeds. In order to examine the genetic influence of Merino in the context of a global collection of domestic sheep breeds, we analyzed genotype data that were obtained with the OvineSNP50 BeadChip (Illumina) for 671 individuals from 37 populations, including a subset of breeds from the Sheep HapMap dataset. Results: Based on a multi-dimensional scaling analysis, we highlighted four main clusters in this dataset, which corresponded to wild sheep, mouflon, primitive North European breeds and modern sheep (including Merino), respectively. The neighbor-network analysis further differentiated North-European and Mediterranean domestic breeds, with subclusters of Merino and Merino-derived breeds, other Spanish breeds and other Italian breeds. Model-based clustering, migration analysis and haplotype sharing indicated that genetic exchange occurred between archaic populations and also that a more recent Merino-mediated gene flow to several Merino-derived populations around the world took place. The close relationship between Spanish Merino and other Spanish breeds was consistent with an Iberian origin for the Merino breed, with possible earlier contributions from other Mediterranean stocks. The Merino populations from Australia, New Zealand and China were clearly separated from their European ancestors. We observed a genetic substructuring in the Spanish Merino population, which reflects recent herd management practices. Conclusions: Our data suggest that intensive gene flow, founder effects and geographic isolation are the main factors that determined the genetic makeup of current Merino and Merino-derived breeds. To explain how the current Merino and Merino-derived breeds were obtained, we propose a scenario that includes several consecutive migrations of sheep populations that may serve as working hypotheses for subsequent studies.

Electric Sheep Shears Market Outlook

The global electric sheep shears market size was valued at approximately USD 1.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 2.3 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. This growth is primarily driven by the increasing demand for efficient and time-saving shearing solutions in the agriculture sector. With the rise in sheep farming and the need for high-quality wool across various industries, the adoption of electric sheep shears is expected to witness significant growth.

One of the major growth factors in this market is the continuous technological advancements in agricultural equipment. Modern electric sheep shears offer enhanced precision, reduced shearing time, and improved animal welfare compared to traditional shearing methods. These advancements have made shearing less labor-intensive and more efficient, encouraging more farmers and professional shearers to invest in electric options. Additionally, the growing awareness about animal welfare and the need to reduce stress and injury during shearing are further propelling the market's growth.

Another significant factor contributing to the expansion of the electric sheep shears market is the increasing global sheep population. As the demand for wool and mutton rises, so does the need for efficient shearing tools. Countries with large sheep populations, such as China, Australia, and New Zealand, are witnessing substantial growth in the adoption of electric sheep shears. Moreover, government initiatives and subsidies aimed at modernizing the agricultural sector are also playing a crucial role in driving market growth.

The rise of e-commerce platforms and online retail is another critical driver for the market. The convenience of purchasing equipment online, coupled with the availability of a wide range of products, has significantly boosted sales of electric sheep shears. Additionally, the ability to compare prices and read reviews online allows farmers and shearers to make informed purchasing decisions. This shift towards online shopping is expected to continue, further fueling the growth of the electric sheep shears market.

Regionally, the market outlook varies significantly. The Asia Pacific region, led by China and India, is expected to dominate the market due to its large sheep population and increasing demand for efficient shearing tools. North America and Europe are also anticipated to witness substantial growth, driven by technological advancements and the rising awareness of animal welfare. Meanwhile, regions such as Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are gradually adopting electric sheep shears as part of their efforts to modernize agricultural practices.

Product Type Analysis

The electric sheep shears market can be segmented based on product type into corded and cordless shears. Corded shears are traditionally more popular due to their consistent power supply and ability to handle extensive shearing tasks without interruptions. These shears are typically preferred in large-scale operations where long hours of continuous use are required. They offer robust performance and are generally more durable, making them a staple in professional shearing scenarios. However, their dependency on a power source can limit their mobility, which is a significant consideration in the field of sheep shearing.

On the other hand, cordless electric sheep shears are gaining traction due to their convenience and flexibility. Advances in battery technology have significantly improved the performance and battery life of cordless models, making them a viable option for both small-scale farmers and professional shearers who need to work in remote locations without access to electricity. The ease of maneuverability and the ability to shear sheep in any location without being tethered to a power outlet make cordless shears increasingly popular. Despite their generally higher cost, the benefits they offer in terms of flexibility and ease of use are driving their adoption.

The choice between corded and cordless shears often depends on the specific needs and preferences of the user. For instance, professional shearers who travel frequently and work in different environments may prefer cordless models, while those who operate in a fixed location with access to power may opt for corded shears. The market for both types is expected to grow, with cordless shears likely to see faster adoption rates due to their increasing reliability and convenience.

Manufacturers are also

Description of the markers used for the analyses including physical position, number of informative meiosis, number of meiosis with known phase. (XLSX 320Â kb)

OvineExpectedRecombinationRate.txt. This file contains information about physical and expected recombination rate for the entire sheep genome assembly (ISGC Oar_v3.1). The first line gives the correct setting to load it in the UCSC genome browser. This file contains four columns, the chromosome, the physical position for the previous markers, the physical position for the markers, and the expected recombination rate between the two markers. (TXT 1492Â kb)

Mean and variance r2 estimated for each chromosome and for 2000 genetic distance points evenly distributed between 0.05 and 50 cM (100 and 1 generations in the past, respectively). For instance, the spreadsheets for the mean r2 were coded as: meanR2rep1_CompRCPT.xlsx, where 1 indicates method 1 and “CompRCPT” indicates the corresponding breed group. The spreadsheets for the r2 variances were coded as: “varR2rep1_CompRCPT.xlsx”, for example. (ZIP 29639 kb)

In 2018, 2,850 people who were employed in the sheep, beef cattle and grain farming industry in New Zealand came from Canterbury. Contrastingly, for the same year, 370 people who were employed in the sheep, beef cattle and grain farming industry were from Taranaki in New Zealand.