Wild pigs and possums drive farm losses

A nationwide survey of 660 Federated Farmers members has found pest numbers are rising, control costs are increasing, and farmers are bearing most of the burden themselves.

Conducted between 10 June and 3 July 2026, the survey reveals a problem that is growing faster than it was in 2024, with wild animal pests now costing the sector an estimated $466 million each year. The results cover farms across every region and major farm type.

While the findings highlight national trends, the survey also points to significant regional differences, including concerns in the Top of the South about wild pigs and the role of public conservation land in sustaining pest populations.

Federated Farmers pest management spokesperson, and Waihopai farmer Richard Dawkins says, farmers are already doing plenty, but individual efforts can only go so far when pests keep reinvading from neighbouring land.

“We’ve spent years trying to tackle this species by species and property by property. The numbers tell us that approach isn’t working. We can’t keep asking farmers to win a landscape-scale battle one boundary fence at a time. New Zealand needs a properly funded national pest management strategy that sets clear responsibilities for farmers, forestry, councils and the Crown,” Richard says.

“If farmers are expected to control pests, then so should lifestyle block owners, forestry owners and those managing Crown and conservation land, with regional councils monitoring and enforcing compliance.

“Pest control in mature forests can be difficult, but that doesn’t remove responsibility. Farmers should not be left carrying the cost when deer and pigs spill across the boundary.”

The problem is getting worse and faster than in 2024
In 2024, half of farmers reported pest numbers had risen over the previous five years. In 2026, that has risen to two-thirds. The proportion reporting no change has almost halved. Farmers reporting increases now outnumber those reporting decreases by about four-to-one, and no region reported a general decline in pest numbers.

Farmers are spending more and getting less
Direct control spending has risen from $5.45 to $6.18 per hectare, an increase of about 13% over two years. Yet the share of farmers reporting they have had to reduce stocking rates because of pests has almost tripled, from about one in nine to nearly one in three. The survey says this is the point where pest pressure stops being a nuisance and becomes a measurable loss of farm income.

Pests cost farmers about $466 million a year
Farmers spent an estimated $82 million controlling animal pests during the past 12 months and lost a further $384 million in production to pests they could not control. The combined $466 million estimate is described as conservative because it excludes labour provided by farmers, family members and staff, along with the costs of re-fencing, re-grassing and replanting. The figure is not directly comparable with the $213 million reported in 2024 because a different method was used to calculate losses.

The pest problem starts beyond the farm gate
Asked which neighbouring land use makes pest control most difficult, farmers named forestry or Crown land eight times more often than another farm. This pattern was found in every region, although the scale varied. Farmers described pests being sustained on land they neither own nor control before spreading onto neighbouring farms where the costs of control are carried privately.

Deer are the fastest-moving problem
The number of deer culled per hectare has more than doubled since 2024, and the proportion of farmers actively managing deer has risen by 13 percentage points. Deer now rank third nationally for impact and are named the worst pest on more farms than any species except possums.Wild pigs, Canada geese and wallabies also recorded increases.

Possums remain the nation’s most widespread pest
Possums are culled in every region and at a higher rate than any other pest. Public funding for possum control has historically focused on bovine tuberculosis (TB) management and has largely been limited to managed TB areas. Outside those areas, farmers bear most of the responsibility and cost of control.

Control is shifting away from poison and towards technology
Poison use has fallen sharply, from well over half of farmers to about one-third, while the use of night vision and thermal imaging has increased from less than one-third to more than four in 10. The survey links this shift to licensing barriers and says farmers are investing in technology to replace tools that have become harder to access.

What has not changed
Several findings were consistent in both survey waves. About one in 10 farms reported no pest-related production impacts in both years. Farmers, family members and staff continued to carry out most pest control work themselves, while agencies played only a limited role.
Biosecurity remained the leading reason for pest control, and neighbouring forestry and Crown land continued to be identified as the main source of pest reinvasion.

Pests are present on virtually every farm
Possums are present on more than nine in 10 farms, and every listed species except wallabies appears on at least one in six farms. Nine in 10 farms actively manage pests, making pest control a routine part of farm operations.

Pest profiles differ sharply by farm type
Sheep and beef farms experience much higher numbers of browsing and rooting animals, including deer, wild pigs and wild goats. Canada geese are the most commonly reported pest species on dairy farms.
Arable farms report the highest rabbit presence and comparatively little pressure from deer, pigs or goats. They are also more likely to report pests outside the survey’s listed species, particularly birds and hares.

The trend direction runs one way everywhere
Two-thirds of managers reported an increase in pest numbers, while about one in six reported no change and one in six reported a decrease. Overall, farmers reporting increases outnumber those reporting decreases by roughly four-to-one.

Sheep and beef farms are the worst affected
Sheep and beef managers were significantly more likely than dairy managers to report increasing pest numbers and less likely to report stable conditions. The survey indicates the situation on those farms is continuing to deteriorate.

Possums are national priority
Possums recorded almost twice the weighted impact score of any other pest species.They were named by four in five respondents who ranked pest impacts and were identified as the worst pest by one-third of them. Respondents described possum numbers falling following coordinated control programmes before rebounding once those programmes ended. The survey raises questions about how possum management should be coordinated and funded in the future as TB-focused programmes wind down.

Wild pigs dominate concerns in the Top of the South
Wild pigs were rated the most common pest problem by farmers in Tasman and Marlborough, and on the West Coast. Elsewhere in New Zealand, possums were  rated as the most common pest. For the Top of the South, possums ranked second.

Biosecurity leads, but production concerns grow
Biosecurity remains the main reason farmers invest in pest control, cited by four in five managers. Improving farm production ranked second and increased from 43% in 2024 to just under two-thirds in 2026.
The survey identifies this as the largest shift in motivation between the two survey waves and links it to increasing production losses.

Control is overwhelmingly done by farmers themselves
More than nine in 10 pest managers said pest control is carried out by owners, employees or family members. Recreational hunters assist on about half of farms, while professional hunters are involved on one in five. Institutional involvement is limited, with regional councils active on about one in six farms and other agencies involved even less frequently.

The scale of effort is substantial
Pest managers reported culling about 225,000 animals during the previous 12 months. Possums accounted for about two-fifths of all animals culled.

Regional hotspots emerge
Deer are culled on farms in every region except Auckland and Northland, with the highest rates reported in Manawatū-Whanganui and on the West Coast. Wild pig control is concentrated in Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough at rates more than double those seen elsewhere. Farmers frequently linked pigs to lamb losses and pasture damage requiring re-grassing.

Cash spending is modest, but does not reflect the true cost
Seven in 10 managers spent less than $5,000 on animal pest control during the past year, excluding fencing. The survey says that figure reflects what farmers can afford to spend rather than the true value of the work because most of the labour is provided by farmers themselves. On average, spending equates to about $6 per hectare annually, suggesting a national spend of between $80 million and $90 million each year.

The composition of the problem varies by region
Farmers name forestry and Crown land as the greatest obstacle to pest control eight times more often than a neighbouring farm. The problem is sustained on land they neither own nor control, but the cost of it is met at the farm gate. In the Top of the South, public conservation land was named more than twice as often as forestry, while in Canterbury the two were cited equally.

Farmers are asking for coordination, not just resources
When asked what would most improve pest control, farmers focused more on coordinated action than additional funding or tools. Common themes included universal landowner participation, regional coordination, forestry accountability and stronger enforcement. The survey’s underlying message is that pest control is most effective when carried out across entire landscapes rather than property by property.