New Zealand's sheep numbers on the whole has fallen to 32.4 million, says Statistics New Zealand, but cattle numbers have risen.

Between 2008 and 2009, sheep numbers dropped to 32.4 million, deer numbers fell to 1.1 million, while beef numbers continued to be stable at 4.1 million.

Growth in New Zealand's dairy herd was focused in the South Island from 2008 to 2009, where numbers climbed 13% to 2.1 million, says the 2009 Agricultural Production Survey.

According to survey, Canterbury was the SouthIsland's biggest dairying area, witnessing 10% increase to touch a herd size of 918,000, followed by Southland, where numbers increased 19% to touch 589,000.

Dairy herd numbers attained a record high of 5.9 million at 30 June 2009, upbeat 282,000 since 2008, but the volume of the North Island herd continued to be stable at 3.8 million.

The expansion in South Island numbers was driven by changes to dairy farming, a minor number of dairy cows and heifers heading to the beef herd, elder cows lingering in milking herds, and the sourcing of dairy heifers from the North Island.

Agricultural Statistics Manager, Gary Dunnet, said, "In 2009, South Island dairy cattle numbers were almost seven times larger than 20 years ago when there are 312,000 dairy cattle".