Sheep farming in New Zealand

According to 2007 figures reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, there are 39 million sheep in the country (a count of about 10 per human).

He was the first Pākehā who settled large numbers of immigrants on the east coast of the South Island, and he imported sheep amongst other stock for this purpose.

[5] John Cracroft Wilson's endeavours of setting up as a sheep farmer in 1854 demonstrate the hardship that early settlers and stock often faced.

His Glenmark Station was for a time New Zealand's largest sheep run,[10] and his daughter established the Christchurch tourist attraction Mona Vale with her inheritance.

[11] His biography says of him:[10] Moore stands out in New Zealand pastoral history as a supremely successful runholder in terms of personal wealth.

His 1873 purchase was a bold decision, based on a mortgage of exceptional size to the Union Bank of Australia, which advanced Moore £90,000.

The link between banking and large runholding in Canterbury was never more clearly demonstrated.New Zealand flocks rarely numbered less than 400 head.

The Lincoln and Border-Leicester were favoured in both islands, while the Southdown displaced other breeds for fat-lamb production throughout New Zealand.

[12] The development of sheep farming in New Zealand in the first half of the 20th century brought increased competition to sheep farmers in southern Patagonia who were struggling with a drop in traffic as result of the opening of Panama Canal and mounting social unrest.

[13] The sheep population reached a peak of 70 million in 1982 but soon there was a sharp decline as the dairy industry overshadowed it.

[3] An annual event of the New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition was initiated by George Fletcher to encourage and appreciate quality breeding of sheep.

[3] In later years, land was leased from the government in the eastern part of South Island, a dry area found suitable to establish large farms for Merinos for increased production of wool.

In the northern Island, sheep farms in lands owned by Māori were under a much lower growth trajectory as the vegetative cover of bushes and wet weather conditions were not conducive for the Merinos to survive.

Subsequently, with large expansion of sheep farms, this export trade has sustained the economy of the country substantially.