According to US Department of Agriculture figures, there are over 1 billion cattle in the world: India leads with 305 million cattle followed by Brazil on 252 million.
NZ is 12th on the list with just over 10 million cattle or just 1% of the total global herd. About 80% of New Zealand beef is exported and makes up 8% of the world’s exported beef.
New Zealand produces 21 billion litres of milk every year – about 3% of the world milk production. We are the world’s 8th largest milk producer.
Not bad for a team of just five million!