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Land Based Primary Production
Some of Marlborough’s most important industries are agriculture, horticulture, wine production and forestry, all of which thrive in the warm, sunny climate. The region has a strong tradition of pastoral farming going back more than a hundred years, but over the last twenty to thirty years there has being increasing diversification.
Sheep and cattle farming remains significant and makes a major contribution to exports, though there are also dairy and deer farms. Marlborough is known for high quality pip and stone fruit that benefit from the long growing season and cool winters, as do several types of vegetable.
Olives are one of the newer crops that thrive in Marlborough and particularly benefit from the high levels of light intensity. Olives are tipped to mirror the success of the wine industry. A number of groves are already producing high quality oil, and others are set to come into production over the next few years.
Forestry - mainly radiata pine - is Marlborough’s other big primary production based export earner.
MARLBOROUGH |
| Stock Type |
Number of Farms |
Stock Numbers |
| Dairy cows in milk or in calf |
90 |
33,000 |
| Beef cattle |
560 |
72,000 |
| Sheep |
785,000 |
| Deer |
55 |
23,000 |
| Pigs |
3 |
500 |
| Goats |
|
4,700 |
MARLBOROUGH |
| Farm Type |
Number of Farms |
| Grain farms |
6 |
| Grain and livestock farms |
N/A |
| Vegetables |
65 |
| Grapes |
360 |
| Other Fruit |
158 |
| Flowers and nurseries |
55 |
| TOTAL |
638 |
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| Grain and Seed Crops |
Prodtn (t) |
Area (Ha) |
| Other wheat |
1,179 |
194 |
| Barley |
3,760 |
742 |
| Oats |
434 |
101 |
| Field peas |
942 |
346 |
| Other pulses |
192 |
112 |
| Other crops |
|
691 |
| TOTAL |
|
2,186 |
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| Horticultural Crops |
Area (Ha) |
| Vegetables |
1,976 |
| Apples |
211 |
| Cherries |
108 |
| Grapes |
7,499 |
| Olives |
449 |
| Other fruit |
186 |
| Flowers and nurseries |
76 |
| TOTAL |
10,505 |
| Goats |
4,700 |
Ref: MAF South Central Monitoring Report July 2004
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