Dairy cattle
Dairy farming in New Zealand is primarily pasture-based. Dairy cattle primarily feed on grass, supplemented by silage, hay and other crops during winter and other times of slow pasture growth. Traditional dairy production areas are the wetter areas of the country, including Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatū, Nelson-Tasman and the West Coast, but Increase irrigation has seen dairy farms established in drier areas such as Canterbury and Otago.