Farming Conditions

Northland has received welcome and significant rain while the South Island is still on the hunt for moisture. Audio

In Northland lots of dairy herds are being sold and in the South Island nearly all the regions are trucking along well for the time of the year. Audio

Good rain helped ease the dry in the north and South Canterbury farmers woke up to two frosts this week. Audio

Waikato is trucking steadily into a drought and Marlborough has seen one of its earliest picks for pinot noir bubbles. Audio

Over much of New Zealand pasture quality is dropping in the heat but stock are generally doing well. There are some sensational Hawkes Bay nectarines in shops. Audio

Temperatures plummeted in Canterbury this week from near 40 degrees to 2 on Friday morning. Hawke's Bay grape growers have had heat and rain when they've needed it this summer. Audio

Stock need sun on their back with more than enough rain in the north, vines are spurting along in Marlborough and Hawkes Bay and farmers are fighting to maintain pasture quality in Southland. Audio

An isolated bout of hail hit some maize crops in Waikato this week, while in the South Island the Marlborough region is looking a picture. Audio

Pasture is bursting forth around the country in "dream" spring conditions, ag contractors are all out making silage, the summer fuit harvest is underway and in the vineyard, workers are tidying vine… Audio

Grass is climbing out of the ground around the North Island and Otago has had a 26 degree day and a frost this week. Audio

There's been welcome rain and warmth in the north and clear patches for sowing and silage-making but too much rain on the West Coast is not helping the mating season. Audio

Avocados are coming off trees thick and fast and retirees are putting their hands up for seasonal work in Central Otago. Audio

Grass is bolting and tractors are humming in the North Island but farmers could still do with more rain. On the West Coast farmers are still waiting for paddocks to dry out enough to plant next… Audio

Farmers in the north who were getting a bit twitchy with the lack of rain are pleased they can now almost see the grass growing after a good few millimetres in the gauge this week. Trading stock are… Audio

Hungry lambs in Rangitikei are starting to put pressure on the amount of grass left for their mums and Nelson and Marlborough are already getting desperately dry. There's been historic low rainfall in… Audio

Northland's farmers are reluctant to buy in stock and the sheep farmers in the southern South Island seem to have made it through this week's weather bomb with fewer than expected lamb deaths. Find… Audio

It's been a kind spring so far with good lamb survival rates and a pleasing bud break in Hawke's Bay orchards but a lot more rain is needed around the country except in Southland and on the West… Audio

Docking's started in blustery weather in the North and in Te Waipounamu it was a wild week for many on both sides of the main divide. Audio