Story: Dairying and dairy products

In 2007 an average dairy herd was 322 cows, twice as large as in the early 1990s. Modern yards can hold several hundred cows – very different from the small yards of early dairy farms. An automatic backing gate, at lower right, slowly moves in a clockwise direction, ushering the cows onto the platform so they can enter the shed for milking.

Dairy cattle numbers, 1895–2005

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Irrigated Southland dairy pastures

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