Farming Conditions

Calving's been keeping farmers busy over a mostly dull, wet and chilly week weather-wise as hares and rabbits pester growers around Pukekohe. Audio

Calving's started as winter arrives in the far north and stock are tucking in to winter crops around Canterbury Audio

Winter sets in in the north and the effects of the drought are still being felt at the top of the South Island. Audio

In Waikato much of the week felt like it was the middle of spring, the temperature hit 20 degrees on Monday but on Thursday it was back to being drizzly and cold. It's been a miserable week of weather… Audio

Farmers in the picturesque Matukituki Valley near Wanaka are enjoying being able to move stock easily now that tourist traffic has quietened down. The mild start to winter around much of the country… Audio

Ewe scanning is underway in the north, which has seen more welcome rain this week and dairy farmers are catching their breath before calving. Audio

Farmers in the far north have had to get their wet weather gear out this week and pruning has started on orchards and vineyards. Audio

Frosts tickled much of the North Island this week. Now saleyards have opened the demand for store stock has improved. Audio

It's still horrifically dry in Southern Hawkes Bay and some Gisborne mandarins are being held on trees until demand picks up post lockdown, while in the South Island green kiwifruit are being… Audio

Hawkes Bay is in dire straits with a continuing drought, Northland which was in one of the worst droughts on record, has had rain. A parched Marlborough received rain last weekend and South Otago is… Audio

Farmers in most parts of the country are longing for rain forecast for this weekend. RSE workers have finished long seasons in New Zealand but many can't get home to the Pacific because of Covid-19… Audio

Dams are being cleaned out in Northland to improve water storage and at the top of the South Island the hop harvest has been producing good yeilds. Audio

Winter's on its way with a chill in the air and snow in the south but not nearly enough rain to break drought. Farmers are feeding the soil to keep growth going with more stock than normal to feed. Audio

The beginning of the week was beautifully fine and far too dry in most of the North Island and in the South, snow has fallen on hills around the Mackenzie Basin. Audio

As welcome rain dampens soils in many regions in time for winter sowing, farmers around the country share how they're coping with Covid-19. Audio

Covid-19 is upsetting the labour supply for some harvests but a dollop of rain in certain drought stricken areas is cheering farmers up, although those in Marlborough are still begging for more. Audio

It's cooled off a bit in the North Island but farmers are still hanging out for rain, while in the South Island, West Coast and Southland farms are going into autumn with pretty good pasture growth. Audio

In parched Northland, a stock agent in Kaipara district says rain this week was enough to settle the dust, but that's about it. The West Coast has had a week of glorious, fine T-shirt and shorts… Audio

The grape harvest is well underway in Hawkes Bay in what is a very early vintage this year. The biggest challenge for sheep farmers in Marlborough is keeping ewe condition up for the ram. Audio

Each week our Country Life reporters check out the latest from farms and orchards around the country.

South Waikato had thunder rolling around the district at the weekend but the rain was very choosy… Audio