Dairy Farming
Workforce Demographics
Workforce dataset (size and demographics) 
Source: Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure
Ethnicity
Compared to the workforce across Muka Tangata industries, Dairy Farming has more workers identifying as Asian but fewer Māori and Pacific peoples. The proportion of workers in Dairy Farming identifying as Māori aligns closely with the national average (national benchmark). Since 2015, the percentage of Asian people working in Dairy increased while the percentage of the workforce identifying as Māori or Pacific peoples has remained relatively consistent.
Age
Compared to other industries the Dairy Farming industry has a relatively young workforce. In 2021 almost two-thirds of workers were aged under 45. This is higher than the average across Muka Tangata and the national average (national benchmark).
Between 2015 and 2020, the proportion of young people aged 15-24 in the Dairy Farming industry workforce has fallen. Overall, the proportion of workers aged under 45 has remained relatively stable since 2015.
Regional Distribution
The Dairy Farming workforce is concentrated in the Waikato and Canterbury regions.
Gender
In 2021, just over one third of individuals working in Dairy Farming were female, and this has increased only marginally since 2015. This sits well below the national average (national benchmark) of 47% but equates to that across Muka Tangata industries.