West Coast New Zealand

Living off the land

The West Coast has a long and strong farming and agricultural history. Beef cattle and sheep have been farmed for more than 100 years and different forage crops have been trialled for West Coast farming systems; with locally grown crops such as maize, silage and brassica proving successful. 

Full time employment in agriculture on the West Coast has clearly increased. Rising from  around 1,430 in 2001 to 1,680 in 2009.  The largest increases have been in dairy cattle farming, while grain, sheep and beef cattle employment have fallen although this has flattened out in the last couple of periods.

Horticulture has been identified by The West Coast Regional Economic Development Strategy as a significant area of development, particularly in northern Buller where there is affordable land, a frost-free microclimate and good road link. Subtropical crops such as black passionfruit, tamarillos, feijoas, limes and blueberries grow well on the Coast. Flowers and bulbs are exported.  Fresh herbs are grown for medicinal use or oil extraction. Karamea Tomatoes, which distributes between 14 and 15 tonnes of fruit weekly to mainly Christchurch markets, is one of many successful horticultural companies in this region.

Another crop reaping rewards on the Coast is sphagnum moss. Around 98 percent of all New Zealand’s Sphagnum Moss production comes from the West Coast, earning the region around $12 million annually and employing around 40 full-time gatherers along with another 100 part-timers. Sutton’s Moss, based at Kaiata near Greymouth, supplies dried Sphagnum Moss to markets mainly in Asia and England. Its product gets used as a medium for orchid growing and making hanging baskets. 

 A newcomer to the Coast horticultural scene are cranberries. Research shows the West Coast's marshland soil is high in organic matter and its capacity for water retention is ideal for growing the small red berries. Development West Coast has invested $1.2 million in Cranberries New Zealand Ltd, located near Westport, to help them develop a new export crop. Not only will low quality land be utilised for the project, but up to 50 full-time equivalent jobs could be generated for contract growers over the next ten years.

The Coastwide Growers’ Association was formed in 2001 to help promote sustainable horticulture development and encourage liaison between growers.