The majority of farms have both sheep and beef cattle, which complement each other in pasture-based grazing systems. Some farms also run deer or have arable crops. This diversification reduces the business risk associated with a single enterprise. All sheep and beef farms are run on low input pasture grazing systems, sometimes supplemented with hay, silage and fodder cropping. This low cost system enables New Zealand farmers to supply high quality pasture-fed meat and wool to world markets at competitive prices.
Meat processing is a strongly competitive industry.
There are a number of other companies that process for the local market only, and several smaller exporters. Sheepmeat Despite New Zealanders' eating about 17 kg of sheepmeat per person per year, we still export 90 percent of our lamb production. This represents only about 5 percent of world production, but 75 percent of world trade. New Zealand is very dependent on international meat prices and market access. Since the mid-1980s, when the sheepmeat industry was heavily subsidised and the processing sector was heavily regulated, the sheep flock has fallen from 70 million to 47 million.