Farmers in many areas say it will take till spring for their land to recover from the drought, despite heavy rain since last week.
The drought has broken in Taranaki, and rain is falling in parts of Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Otago and Canterbury.
But Waikato Federated Farmers says the rain has come too late for winter pasture to grow.
While the back of the drought will be broken, president Stu Wadey says Waikato and other regions will be in a recovery phase until at least spring.
In Central Otago, frosts and snow are expected to soon ruin any chances of growing pasture.
