Southdown sheep wool and cereals due to rising volumes of imports from the British Empire was accompanied by the Wet Years - a six-year period of cold, wet weather with little sun. In the Second World War, the South Downs were commandeered for military training, only fringe farms being left to produce milk for the towns. Sheep farming declined further after the war, although it is now being encouraged again through the designation of the downland as an environmentally sensitive area, and the restoration of arable land to sheepwalk. The Southdown has been placed on a watch list by the Rare Breeds
Southdown Power Station River at full capacity. Apart from generating 170 MW of electricity for the wider Auckland area, Southdown also provided steam to the local industrial area near the station. At full capacity, the station could provide of steam per hour, piped from the station to consumers at pressures of . In the 2008 - 2009 financial year, Might River Power reported 249,407 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from Southdown. In March 2015, Mighty River Power announced that it would decommission Southdown and sell the plant overseas. Southdown Power Station Southdown Power Station was a natural gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine cogeneration