“What's going to happen to the land and what are people going to live on?” Negotiating change and threats to dairy farmer identities and livelihoods in Aotearoa New Zealand
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Since European settlement in the 1800s, pastoral agriculture has been a foundational component of Aotearoa (New Zealand)'s economy (Peden, 2008). Colonization resulted in the widespread replacement of native forest, wetlands and tussocks with exotic grasslands for sheep and cattle (Campbell, 2020). Over two centuries, the landscape was transformed from diverse native habitats to homogeneous grasslands of industrial production for international markets (Primdahl and Swaffield, 2004). Pastoral family farms became the dominant form of land use during the 1900s, widely thought to represent national identity and heritage (Campbell, 2020). Today, around 47,250 farms cover almost half the country's total land area (StatsNZ, 2024a). The contrast between current farming systems and the pre-human landscape is stark, with little compatibility between agricultural land and native plants and animals (Cunningham et al., 2013). Mirroring international trends, however, the New Zealand population has become increasingly urban. For over a century, Aotearoa has officially been a primarily urban society, with over 50% of the population living in towns since 1911, increasing to 87% in 2022 (The World Bank, 2022). While agricultural products remain a significant part of the country's export economy, accounting for around 6% of GDP, working on the land is no longer a common occupation. The agricultural workforce has shrunk significantly from almost 20% in 1951 to 6% in 2021.
Source: Journal of Rural Studies
Institutions: Lincoln University, University of Waikato
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,090
Funder: Bio-Protection Research Centre
OpenAlex ID: W7169883262