Tararua District Council - Dannevirke Service Centre

Tararua District is a predominantly rural area especially suitable for sheep, cattle, and dairy farming. The large size of the district (424,000 hectares) and the fact that there are several small urban areas included within it provide significant challenges in terms of service delivery.

Over a third of the workers in the district are employed in the agricultural industry. Other industries include food processing, textiles and retailing; all of these however, are insignificant compared with agriculture. Commercial forestry is a very new industry and the benefits will not be maximised for another 25 years.