New Zealand's wheat, barley, and maize grain harvests increased in the year ended 30 June 2009, Statistics New Zealand said today.

Provisional results from the 2009 Agricultural Production Survey reported that 408,400 tonnes of wheat were harvested, up 19 percent on the previous year. The area harvested increased 27 percent to 53,900 hectares of wheat.

Barley and maize grain harvests in 2009 showed the following increases when compared with 2008:

 449,800 tonnes of barley were harvested in 2009, up 10 percent. The area harvested increased 15 percent to 77,800 hectares.

 257,000 tonnes of maize grain were harvested in 2009, up 25 percent. The area harvested increased 26 percent to 23,100 hectares.

"Favourable weather during the growing season and high wheat and barley prices at sowing time helped drive the increase," agriculture statistics manager Gary Dunnet said.

Planting of wine grapes continued to expand, with 32,960 hectares planted at 30 June 2009. That represents an 11 percent increase over 2007, when horticultural crop information was last collected.

"The expansion of wine grape plantings is reflected in wine exports, with 112 million litres of wine, excluding fortified wines, exported in the year ended 30 June 2009," Mr Dunnet said.

"Twenty years ago in 1989, only 3 million litres were exported." Vegetable crop harvests showed the following movements in 2009 compared with 2007, when data was last collected for these crops:

 11,490 hectares of potatoes were harvested in the year ended 30 June 2009, up 14 percent

 5,040 hectares of sweet corn were harvested, down 19 percent. The 2009 sweet corn harvest was affected by several factors, including competition from alternative land uses, unfavourable weather conditions in Hawke's Bay, and the closure of a processing plant in South Canterbury.

This provisional release covers key livestock numbers, arable and horticulture crops, and forestry harvestings and plantings. Final results, including detailed regional statistics will be available on 13 May 2010.

The 2009 Agricultural Production Survey collected information from farmers, horticulturists, and foresters, and included selected farming practices, such as fertiliser application and cultivation practices. The survey was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.