Nationally, the gain in numbers was in older trading cattle and greater weaner numbers.
Breeding cow numbers were static at 954,000 because of a slight fall in the North Island where overall cattle numbers were higher and a rise in the South Island.
The number of trading cattle being farmed was highlighted in Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s June 30 survey of livestock numbers.
Cattle were more profitable than sheep and farmers were encouraged by plentiful grass growth despite having to pay high prices.
South Island numbers rose 6.3% year-on-year to 1.09 million with 7% rises in Canterbury-Marlborough to 690,000 and in Otago to 225,000.
In most areas sheep and cattle were farmed together and the beef increase was mostly a tilting of the balance rather than a wholesale switch away from sheep, B+LNZ chief economist Andrew Burtt said.
In Canterbury-Marlborough, coming out of the multi-year drought, the lift in trading cattle numbers reflected the schedule price outlook and the plentiful feed available as well as frustration with purchase prices for alternatives, especially beef weaners.
Older trading cattle were also a feature in Otago and the wider Otago- Southland region also had an 11% boost in weaner numbers, making up 143,000 of the total, sourced mostly from the dairy industry.
Southland had a 2.4% increase in beef cattle numbers to an estimated 173,000 on June 30.
The numbers indicated the interest in finding an alternative to sheep, Burtt said.
The increased number of weaner cattle also pushed overall beef cattle numbers higher to 3.63m, up 2.8% on a year earlier.
North Island numbers were up 1.4% to 2.54m. There were falls in the upper North Island and, marginally, in Taranaki-Manawatu but they were offset by a major boost in East Coast with a stunning 18.4% increase in weaner numbers to 307,000 and an overall 6.4% gain to 953,000 head of beef cattle.
Farmers in the wider region were continuing to focus more on running cattle, he said.
In the northern North Island covering Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty there were decreases in breeding cow numbers on easier hill-country and finishing farms, continuing a six-year trend, but an increase on the harder hill-country.
Taranaki-Manawatu continued to experience the decade-long decline in the beef cattle herd, following the expansion of the dairy herd and dairy grazing. Breeding cow numbers fell 5% to 103,000 and overall beef cattle numbers by 0.4% to 413,000.
Throughout the country B+LNZ reported very good cow condition going into mating and favourable pasture-growing conditions. The South Island was expected to have an increase in calving though scanning showed sporadic reports of high empty rates in Southland and Otago.
