NZ small-scale livestock production benchmarks (2026 synthesis)
Resolves RT_277 — the livestock/protein-module data the food model lacked (was veg-yield only)
Egg yield, hill-country stocking rate and meat/ha are NZ-specific (industry-body + peer-reviewed; the Beef+Lamb hill-country PDF is filed as the primary). The edible-protein-per-ha figure is a DERIVED estimate — no NZ source publishes protein/ha. AI-prepared, adversarially verified (verdict confirmed) → data_quality medium.
Summary
NZ small-scale livestock benchmarks to build the protein/livestock module the Neobiome food model lacked (it was vegetable-yield only). Laying hens produce ~280–300 eggs/yr each on ~45 kg feed/bird/yr; NZ hill-country pastoral grazing runs ~7.5 stock units/ha, producing ~137–147 kg of carcass meat/ha/yr, which converts to a derived ~20–29 kg edible protein/ha/yr. (On the regenerative-agriculture side, this synthesis independently reproduced CR_023’s findings — see the corroboration note — so RT_213 is resolved against CR_023, the richer existing source.)
Key claims
- claim: "LAYING HENS (NZ). Commercial layer hens produce ~280-300 eggs/hen/year (Land Use NZ states ~280; commercial Hyline/Shaver breeds ~300) — use 250-280 as a conservative small/community-flock planning number. Feed ~120-125 g/day per bird (~44-46 kg/bird/year) of a 16-18% protein layer ration. Verified verbatim: 280 eggs (Land Use NZ) and 120-125 g/day (Dine-A-Chook NZ)."
source_location: "Land Use NZ poultry page (eggs); Dine-A-Chook New Zealand (feed rate)"
- claim: "PASTURE STOCKING RATE (NZ). Hill-country national average ~7.5 stock units/ha (4.1 sheep + 3.3 cattle SU); farm-class range ~3-7 SU/ha (extensive/run) up to 12-15 SU/ha (developed/easy-flat). 1 stock unit ~ 550 kg dry matter intake/year (standard NZ convention). Convert SU to head via B+LNZ/DairyNZ factors (ewe = 1.0 SU, beef cow ~ 5-6 SU). The 7.5 SU/ha figure traces to the Beef+Lamb NZ hill-country dataset (filed PDF)."
source_location: "Beef + Lamb New Zealand — hill-country sheep and beef farms (filed primary); DairyNZ / B+LNZ stock-unit convention"
- claim: "MEAT & EDIBLE PROTEIN PER HECTARE (NZ). NZ hill-country sheep-and-beef systems yield ~137-147 kg of carcass meat/ha/year (peer-reviewed, Massey-authored, southern North Island hill country). Converting carcass to edible protein gives a DERIVED ~20-29 kg edible protein/ha/year (~18-20% protein content, carcass-to-edible adjusted) — flagged as an order-of-magnitude estimate, since NO NZ source reports protein-per-hectare directly."
source_location: "Agriculture (MDPI) 11(6):531, 2021 (carcass meat/ha; abstract via Consensus — MDPI 403 to WebFetch); edible-protein derivation = this synthesis"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
Fills the livestock/protein-module gap (RT_277) behind the thesis strategic-options table’s D02 protein rows (poultry, managed grazing) and the food-model’s missing protein side. The model can size a community protein contribution from: eggs (hens × ~280/yr), and grazing (land_ha × stocking rate → ~137-147 kg meat/ha/yr → derived protein). Caveats for the model: the protein/ha figure is derived, not sourced; stocking rate is in NZ stock units (convert to head); community extensive grazing on rough land may sit at the low end (3-7 SU/ha).
Regen-ag corroboration (resolves RT_213 → CR_023): this pass independently reproduced CR_023’s figures — Align Farms regen dairy ~18-22% lower (1,329 vs 1,714 kgMS/ha) on ~5 vs ~190 N/ha, the Gisborne veg trial, and no measurable NZ regen soil-carbon premium (NZIAHS rejects the international ~8 t C/ha/yr claim; NZ baseline ~100 t C/ha to 30 cm). CR_023 is the richer source, so RT_213 is resolved against it rather than duplicated here.
Underlying sources
- Land Use NZ — poultry egg yield.
- Dine-A-Chook New Zealand — layer feed rate.
- OT_082 — Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Hill Country Sheep and Beef Farms (June 2020) — the 7.5 SU/ha stocking-rate primary, now ingested as its own source (PDF moved out of this CR’s folder).
- Agriculture (MDPI) 11(6):531, 2021 — NZ hill-country meat/ha (Massey).
- DairyNZ / B+LNZ — stock-unit convention.
Retrieval provenance
AI-prepared, adversarially verified (verdict confirmed, low hallucination risk). Egg yield + feed rate confirmed verbatim on source pages; stocking rate + meat/ha confirmed via Beef+Lamb / the MDPI abstract. The protein/ha figure is a derived estimate (flagged). Compiled by the source-key-rts workflow (WebSearch + Consensus; Perplexity MCP unavailable). Exact prompt in the _retrieval.md sidecar. ⚠ One source attribution to firm at use: the SU≈550 kg DM convention should cite a standard B+LNZ/SU reference rather than the DairyNZ CSR page.
Research targets
No new research targets. (Resolves RT_277; RT_213 resolved against CR_023.)
Connections
Links to
Referenced by
Sources (1): OT_082
EDT domains (1): D02: Smart Food Systems & Agriculture