A prolonged dry spell in parts of the upper North Island is verging on drought conditions as farmers become more and more desperate for rain.
The worst affected areas are the west coast of Northland, South Auckland, and north and eastern Waikato where no decent amount of rain has fallen in three months.
Waikato farmer Blair Jackson. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
Blair Jackson, who farms at Tauhei in Waikato, says it's very frustrating after having a good spring and it will be very serious if there isn't rain soon to encourage grass growth before winter sets in.
"I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens but destocking is an option as is buying in more feed. We just pray that the rain comes before then."
At Ruawai near Dargaville in Northland, Lyall Preston and his brother Garth milk just over 800 cows. The family has farmed the land there since 1919 and Lyall says it is the driest he has seen since 1982.
"We normally milk to about the middle of April, but we have already have dried off about a third of the herd and the entire herd will be dry by next week."
Mr Preston says the economic toll is huge: "We will be down about 60,000 kilograms of milk solids - worth nearly half a million dollars."
It's the financial hit that is really frustrating for dairy farmers coming at a time of a record payout forecast.
The president of Waikato Federated Farmers, James Houghton, says most farmers can endure only about a month of no rain. "It's getting quite desperate and lets hope the weather gods come our way with some welcome relief."
Ashley Cullen, the head of Federated Farmers' dairy section in Northland, says because the dry is not region-wide like last year, it will be difficult to declare a drought. Some areas have recently had up to 40mm of rain, but on the west side particularly around Dargaville the situation is serious.
Sheep and beef farmers are also struggling, but don't have the payout to cushion the blow of having to buy in supplementary feed.
Neil Bateup heads the Waikato Rural Support Trust and says there is growing despair on farms. He says farmers need to talk to and support each other.
Mr Bateup says farmers need to be proactive as winter approaches and have options, including bringing in feed and sending stock away for grazing.
He doubts that a drought declaration will be made, but the situation is being closely monitored.
