A farm dog checks out the heavy rain near Whanganui River Photo: Lou Oskam
Hawke's Bay had a 23 degree day on 1 June and Balclutha farmers have been reaching for their stubbies - it's been very warm there too. Listen to On the Farm for more on conditions on farms and orchards around the country.
Northland's been blowy this week with heavy passing showers. It's relatively mild - ideal for grass growth and that's putting a smile on farmers' faces.
Pukekohe has had a very wet week with 75mm of rain and more to come. Harvesting of brassicas and kiwifruit pruning has been possible but sowing main crop onions is on hold until the ground dries out.
The rain in Waikato has been just what the doctor ordered, 130 millimetres has fallen in 10 days and the drought has broken. Predictions are for a warm June. That'll put farms in a good position for calving when it starts next month. Many sheep and beef farms are still carrying more than their usual winter stock numbers - farmers are keen to get rid of the excess numbers.
A kiwifruit grower in Bay of Plenty says rain has put the brakes on the green kiwifruit harvest - the fruit needs to be dry to be picked and the ground's too soft for tractors and trailers. He says a day of sunshine should sort it out. Unfortunately pickers are twiddling their thumbs - if they don't work they don't get paid. Sometimes they can be redeployed to take care of other jobs on the orchard. Less gold fruit was picked than estimated - the crop's down about 12 million trays.
King Country's had rain, rain and more rain. Farmers have their raincoats on and are busy with maintenance - they're also trying to limit moving stock around farms for fear of pugging.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Dairy farmers who moved on 1 June are getting to grips with their new properties. Taranaki's hill country has had a good dollop of rain too - the temperatures are good so growth rates are above what you'd expect for the time of year. Overall Taranaki's milk production was 7 percent down on last season - mind you that was a good season. Higher altitude farms took an even greater hit.
Across the island and there's not been much sign of winter in the Gisborne region. It was 18C when the sun rose on the first of the month. There is growth but it's slowing as the daylight hours shorten. Farmers are enjoying high prices but are wondering what the next 12 months will being - input prices are shooting up and there are delays in getting some farm supplies.
And Hawke's Bay had a 23C day on 1 June. It rained on Monday and Thursday and was fine in between. It's definitely grass growing weather. Stock health is good although there's a bit of flystrike about. The countryside is looking a picture which is just as well because the price of urea has now hit $1434 a tonne - a year ago it was less than $600. Thankfully nature's taking care of grass growth without any help.
Wairarapa had a run of frosts over the weekend but it's been damp and mild since. The frosts checked growth in the hill country. Grass grub's bad for the second season in a row and there are reports of young grass being wiped out.
Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
We're told Manawatū and Horowhenua have had far too much rain. All the mud has made drying cows off difficult. You want to keep their udders clean. It's been warm here too - after last week's cold snap. Asparagus paddocks are looking tatty and growers are now mowing down the asparagus fern. Strawberry growers are replacing their plants.
Pruning has been delayed by wet weather in the Nelson/Motueka region. A grower who operates a small orchard near Richmond says a downpour on Tuesday night left 50 millimetres in the gauge and it continues to be showery. There's a risk of silverleaf fungus getting into the cuts when its damp, so he's in the shed packing fruit until conditions dry out. A block of Bosc pears are first in line for a trim, followed by the Packham, Taylors Gold and Nashi pears varieties.
It's been raining on and off in Marlborough too. The warm nor-west rain has given grass growth a welcome boost but it's held up pre-lamb shearing and made a mess of winter feed paddocks, where stock have trampled crops into the mud. The farmer we spoke to says utilisation in the paddocks quickly went from 80 to 50 percent, so he's put the sheep back onto wide open spaces until things dry out. Most tractor work's done unless baleage needs to be fed out and fences are being checked and fixed. In the provinces, vineyards' pruning's well underway now that all the leaves have dropped and staffing levels are looking a lot better than last year.
A Grey Valley farmer on the West Coast is pleased he dried his herd off a couple of weeks ago, because this week he's tipped a heap of water out of the rain gauge. Most other people have dried off in the area too. Cows are on swedes and fodder beet and a top up of baleage. When the paddocks dry out, he's starting a spraying programme to keep on top of the porina grass grub.
Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
Mild weather continues across Canterbury with regular rains and hardly any frosts. Daytime temperatures have been nudging 20 degrees some days. Everyone is switching to winter mode now. Farm input costs continue to rise which is eating into farm profit margins.
Farmers were reaching for their stubbies in South Otago as temperatures reached a high of 22C this week. It's also made the grass sit right up. A farmer near Balclutha says the milking machine was turned off on Thursday for winter so now he's getting the girls to transition from grass onto fodder beet. Despite having reduced the herd by 100 cows, production-wise it's been his best year yet. He puts it down to good pasture and land management and having collars on the cows so he can monitor their health and dietary requirements.
Southland's had some of the wet stuff but in-between the weather's been perfect for a couple of rounds of golf. Lambs have been trickling into the freezing works but a back log of cull cows waiting to be processed are holding things up. Milking has come to an end and for one farm - the last of the cows have been trucked off to the Maniototo for winter grazing.
