North Island farmers growing maize as supplementary dairy feed are worried about the impact of drought conditions on the crops - which will be increasingly important as more pasture dies off.
Ian Williams, a forage specialist with the maize seed supplier, Pioneer, says it's been fielding a lot of calls from farmers.
Farmers have been asking whether there is likely to be enough feed to sustain dairy herds.
"There shouldn't be a big impact on feed quality," Mr Williams says.
Maize planted before the middle of October would be little affected by drought.
But as maize crops dry, there could be questions over how palatable it is to cows, and contractors should chop it finely and make sure that it is properly stacked.
Feed quality was supported because if the plant diverted nutrient from the cob, it would go into the green material, so the cows would still be well fed.
"The plant is incredibly resilient ... it will be more than good enough to feed cows," says Mr Williams.
The Foundation for Arable Research will hold a discussion on managing drought-hit maize crops at its Waikato research site next week.
