Photo: Supplied/Massey University
It's been one of the "kindest" winters for Northland growers, certainly one of the best in recent years. Our contact described the conditions as more like a late autumn, with lots of sunshine. Plenty of feed means the cattle market is strong, prices are good though there's less stock around due to changing land uses and farming practices. It's driving the store market as farmers looking to fatten stock up on the extra feed.
In Pukekohe, shed-stored onions and pumpkin along with recently grown outdoor vegetables remain in abundant supply. June has been mild with adequate rainfall, while July has brought cooler weather.
Most dairy farmers are getting ready for or already well into calving. Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
Waikato has also had very favourable conditions. Our dairy farmer friend says pasture cover is higher than usual which means cows are in better condition. Things are generally pretty good though the latest global dairy trade prices were "disappointing". In a few weeks, most dairy farmers will be right into calving. Preparations are underway in the meantime.
In Bay of Plenty, the kiwifruit harvest is now complete with growers busy pruning, tying down vines and making any changes on orchard. With 197 million trays sold, it's thought to be their biggest season ever and growers are confident about marketing results. It's a different story for avo growers, where picking is soon to start. Fruit is looking good and there are high hopes for better prices this year after last season's domestic glut due to poor weather.
Avocado growers are hopeful of a better season, after last year's bad weather led to fewer exports and a flooded domestic market. Photo: 123RF
It's been a good run up to winter for King Country farmers. There's plenty of feed around and one sheep and beef farmer described conditions this week as spring like. Pregnancy scanning results were good and things were "ticking along nicely". He just has his hoggets to scan next month. With low returns on sheep, farmers are knuckling down and trying to reduce spending. Most have been busy with maintenance jobs like fencing or trying to get off farm for a bit.
Taranaki farmers have also had a good season. Our dairy farmer in Ōpunake had good autumn calving rates and was busy with winter milking. Others he knew were already a week into their calving for spring milking. With rainfall down it was a slightly drier winter but there was plenty of feed. Grass and crops like maize and oats, had seen moderate to good growth.
The orange harvest is soon to start. Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
The East Coast-Te Tai Rāwhiti was hit with heavy rainfall last week. There was no major damage or reports of stock losses. But flooding and slips have damaged tracks, fence lines and brought down trees onto powerlines around the region. The mandarin harvest has come to an end, with navel orange picking about to begin. Our grower contact says it had been a much better winter until last week's wet but the domestic market was feeling a bit flat.
It's been a cooler winter for apple growers in Hawke's Bay. The chill makes the trees more fruitful come spring and could lead to earlier budding this year. Most growers were "all hands to the deck" with pruning trees and pulling out old blocks. After a tough few years for the industry, most are looking to be consolidating rather than expanding.
Cool weather in Hawke's Bay could make for apple trees fruiting earlier. Photo: Supplied
The month just been has been "exactly what was needed" for farmers in Manawatū-Rangitikei. Warm temperatures have allowed many to recover from the earlier dry conditions with good grass growth. Crops like kale and fodder beet were also coming along well. Early sheep pregnancy scanning results were unsurprisingly "disappointing" with most down about 5-10% due to the tough autumn. The first of the dairy calves are on the ground.
In Wairarapa the mood has also improved following a late season drought. Recent rain has helped grass grow and the feed situation has improved. Prices for a lot of products like wool and lamb remain "depressed" though. Dairy farmers are into calving.
Welcome rain has lead to grass growth in Marlborough. Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
Across Cook Strait to a hop garden at Tapawera in the Whakatū-Tasman region - and the winter work of tidying up the hop 'tails' and straightening up the hop pins for the stringing program is well through. Weed management's being planned for the best outcome, with as little herbicide used as possible. In the processing sheds, hop picking machinery and drying kilns are being checked and serviced. Rain has been welcome after a prolonged dry phase and solid frosts are predicted - all good for hop plant health. It's been incredibly mild too, giving pastoral farmers some much needed late season grass growth.
Months of dry conditions in the Marlborough Sounds have impacted ewe scanning results. Pregnancy rates are about 10% lower than last year. The farmer we talked to says the lower scanning results won't necessarily mean less income ahead though, as single born lambs will survive better and grow out heavier in his 'no fertiliser' system. The road network to farms in the outer Sounds is gradually improving, but there's still no stock truck access for livestock farmers, who are already struggling with low prices, high interest rates and winter.
A frosty morning on the West Coast. Photo: Supplied / Westland Milk Products
Our contact at Ross on the West Coast says there's been little rain and good temperatures so far this winter. Saying that, this week it's been frosty and there's a heap of fresh snow on the Alps. The main job at the moment on farm is moving breaks, tidying races, feeding out silage and getting things ready for calving. That's due to start in about four weeks. On other farms though, calving's about to get underway and the first milk collection in the region begins on July 15.
For the last month Canterbury's been quite wet and cold much to the relief of the dryland areas, in particular North Canterbury, although a lot more rain is required to get farmers out of a soil moisture deficit. Across the region, feed levels are tight with stocks of straw and baleage rapidly depleting. Greenfeed crop levels are back, due to the the dry summer and autumn, making feed budgeting a high priority. Everyone's hanging out for a nice early spring and a return to normality in terms of sheep meat prices.
Conditions are good for curling. Photo: Supplied/ Janyne Fletcher
Ida Valley. Photo: Ken Gillespie
Sheep in the snow. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Central Otago is chilly. This week, Oturehua had minus 8 and 9 frosts. This bodes well for curling on the Idaburn Dam. To slide a stone safely the ice needs to be least 25 millimetres thick. At the moment though it's 8 - so a lot more freezing is needed. On the land, everyone's in winter mode feeding out baleage and hay. There's a fair bit of sheep shearing being done too. Young stock are on winter feed crops and crops under irrigation are looking good. Dryland crops are struggling due to a lack of water.
A dairy farmer in Southland, who milks about 2000 cows near Edendale, says lots of rain in June meant grass growth was double the normal average. Early July's been drier with some light frosts, good conditions for doing on-farm maintenance and building a new calving pad. Cows are winter feeding on either kale or baleage and grass. Calving gets underway on August 1.
