Landcorp was incorporated as a State-owned Enterprise on 1 April 1987 to assume the commercial farming and property activities of the former
Department of Lands and Survey. It operates under the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986. Landcorp is New Zealand's largest farmer, with over $1.7 billion in total assets. It farms 117 beef, dairy, deer and sheep farms - 84 are owned directly by the company and the others are farmed on behalf of the Crown or private interests. It also owns Focus Genetics, an animal genetics company, and has a 50% investment in Spring Sheep Milk; as well as investments in FarmIQ and Melody Dairies. The company has won a food innovation award for its groundbreaking deer milk innovation and was ranked in the top 10 innovative companies in Australasia in the agriculture category in the 2019 AFR Innovation Awards. Landcorp employs about 700 permanent staff and up to an additional 300 staff during busy periods. It farms about 440000 Sheep, 80000 beef cattle, 74000 dairy cows and 89000 deer. The company has over 9,400 hectares of plantation forestry. ==Climate Change==