The Agricultural Regions of New Zealand

There is A voluminous literature devoted to the systematic analysis and description of New Zealand agriculture,x but no attempt has previously been made to differentiate on a regional basis the variety of forms which this agriculture assumes. That is the aim of the present article. Economic Geography has rendered cultural geography a signal service in publishing the most comprehensive regional view of agricultural geography? continent by continent?yet available.2 It is unfortunate however that no place was found for New Zealand in these series of articles. In few countries is agriculture of such relatively great significance; fewer depend so completely upon commercial forms of agriculture. Yet despite its small area and its uniformly heavy reliance upon primary production, it is geographically inexact to describe the Dominion as one huge dairy farm or even as a mosaic of small dairy farms. Most elements of both the natural and the cultural landscape in New Zealand may be sharply differentiated on a regional basis; such is also the case with agricultural forms. Of the physical elements, climate and surface configuration especially provide marked regional contrasts; of the cultural elements those produced by agricultural occupancy of the land are most significant, in extra-urban areas. Together these three elements must always play a large part in effective regional studies in New Zealand. Geomorphic provinces and climatic regions have already been given some attention. 3 This article attempts to bridge a serious gap in New Zealand geographical literature by delimiting and describing the distinctive agricultural regions of the Dominion. Derwent Whittlesey has provided the most satisfactory classification to date of world agricultural regions.4 He listed five functioning forms5 that characterize the agriculture practised in any area, and he used these as the

Agricultural economics · Agriculture · Archaeology · Economics · Geography · New Zealand studies · Social science · Sociology · Rural development and sustainability

• Agricultural typology as a tool in planning spatial organization of agriculture—IGU Commission on Agricultural Typology

  Open Access•Jerzy Kostrowicki•Geoforum•1976

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