Extremely cold conditions are proving challenging for Waikato farmers, although there has not been enough snow to disrupt milk collection as in other parts of the country.
Ag First dairy consultant James Allen says things are tough but not as tough as other parts of the country.
He says autumn was exceptionally good and Waikato farmers went into the winter with cows in good condition and good pasture cover.
He says that since then, July and June were some of the wettest on record, so pasture utilisation was poor and there was a bit of pugging damage which will take awhile to recover.
But Mr Allen says cows are milking quite well and there are good supplements on hand.
He says most farmers are two thirds of the way through calving, so their workload is at its peak with cows to calve, cows to milk and new calves to train each day.
