New Zealand’s agricultural industry contributes some 12% to the nation’s GDP. It’s the largest sector of the country’s trading economy, accounting for the majority of exports and more than 6% of employment.
Famed for its green pastures, livestock farming – predominantly sheep and dairy – is the country’s largest sector. This pasture based farming is supplemented with some 400,000 ha of feed crops comprising of brassicas, beets and maize silage that play an essential rotational role.
Just over 5% of the nation’s agricultural land is devoted to arable production, yet it’s seen as a cornerstone industry producing grain for both foodstuffs and animal feed. Production of cereal grains including wheat, barley, oats and maize totals over one million tonnes each year. This home-produced alternative to imports makes New Zealand virtually self-sufficient in cereal grains.
The horticulture sector is also a significant contributor with apples, Kiwifruit and wine production exporting nearly $5b and growing.
Crops At Risk From Slug Damage
Cereals
Potatoes and other vegetables
Maize
Fodder crops (brassicas and beets)
Newly sown pasture
Native Snail Species
New Zealand has an estimated 1400 native species of slugs and snails but all of the economically important pest slugs are introduced species.
Deroceras reticulatum (grey field slug)
Deroceras panormitanum (brown field slug)
Milax gagates (black keeled slug)
Arion hortensis (garden slug)
Axcela® in New Zealand