On the Farm: Recent Episodes
RNZ
Hawkes Bay has had good weather for flowering vineyards. A dairy farmer in Southland says grass is shooting out of the ground after a good dose of rain.
There's an explosion of grass in Waikato this week after countless days of rain and warmish weather, calves are being weaned and drenched on the West Coast and winter crops are in the ground in South Otago.
In Manawatu it's gone from being too wet to drive tractors on paddocks to hanging out for rain. While on the West Coast of the South Island, farmers are shutting up paddocks for silage, and some are past their peak milk production.
In Taranaki the temperature gauge is rising and pasture growth is finally looking good. In Southland, they're flat out tailing and some farmers are pleasantly surprised that their lambing tally is higher than scanning predicted.
Warm rain and a mix of sunshine has kicked grass out of the ground across the country. It's a relief for many across the North Island trying to get silage together. Farmers are treading water in Wairarapa and join those in Nelson wanting a bit more rain now the ground is drying up. And the last of tailing completed this week marks the end of the lambing season in Southland.
Most farms are pretty short of grass in Northland and supplementary feed suppliers say there has been a big uptake. Strong wind has stopped spraying in its tracks for an olive grower in Wairarapa, while in Central Otago a frost at the beginning of the week was an early wake up call for cherry growers.
Weather has been kind in Bay of Plenty with enough sunny days to finally finish docking and creative juices have been let loose on the humble gumboot on the West Coast.
Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers are counting their losses this week after a frost last Friday caused irreparable damage. Central Otago sheep farmers are nearing the end of shearing and lambing is in full swing.
Cold and extremely wet is how most are feeling in Waikato. About 110 millimetres of rain has fallen this week. Snow fell across Canterbury this week to sea level. Grass growth remains very slow with many farmers still feeding out.
In the Bay of Plenty gold kiwifruit are in their full bud stage and the new red kiwifruit vines are starting to flower. In Otago one farmer says it' been one of the best lambing seasons in his 50 years.
In the Bay of Plenty it's still wet and boggy around kiwifruit vines. Bud burst is a bit slower than usual which is a relief for orchardists still trying to finish pruning. Ewe scanning percentages are down about 10 percent in Southland and that's being attributed to this year's drought.
It's been one of the wettest springs for a while in Hawke's Bay which makes it physically hard on farm as everything is sodden. In South Otago the weather has been perfect for those in the thick of lambing and pasture covers are as perfect as they can be for early spring.
A southerly cruised through the Bay of Plenty making it miserably cold for staff continuing to prune kiwifruit. Bud burst has started in Marlborough vineyards. Some growers have been fighting frosts this week with windmills and helicopters.
Early fruit trees are blossoming, asparagus heads are peeping out and lambing is in full swing as spring touched down this week after a miserable winter.
Lambing percentages are looking positive In King Country with plenty of twins frolicking around the paddocks. In Marlborough some vineyards are still tying and pruning their vines behind schedule due to staff shortages and last week's horrendous weather.
Northland, Tasman/Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast farmers are once again dealing with flooded paddocks, slips, access roads blocked and significant damage following huge volumes of rain falling this week.
Farmers In Waikato say they don't want any more rain for some time as July had double the usual amount. Calving is well underway In Southland and cows are munching their way through beet and swede fodder crops.
Dairy farmers near Tauranga say their paddocks are drying off nicely during drier weather this week and in Southland ewes are being moved onto crops before lambing next month.
Around Taumaranui it's been time to get firewood stacked in the shed between showers. Scanning's done and lambing starts about mid August so the ewes are being moved to their set paddocks. Calving is going well in Southland but winter is only half way through and farmers are wondering whether they need to buy in more feed.
Wet rules around the country, with good dumpings of snow on higher altitude South Island properties.
Sheep and beef farmers In Northland are dealing with sodden ground and surface water up to seven centimetres high. Southland farmers say they missed the worst of this week's bad weather and some early lambs are already skipping around paddocks.
Farmers in Wairarapa have been crutching and watching ewes. Conditions underfoot have dried out in Canterbury so stock are utilising fodder crops well.
Northland soils are extremely wet so dairy farmers are continuing to stand cows off pastures where possible. Central Otago farmers are shifting breaks and feeding out stock and shearing is underway on half-bred sheep.
A farmer on the East Coast has just finished pregnancy scanning ewes, while some of the very early flocks are starting to lamb. Cows in Southland have settled on winter crops and sheep are break feeding on grass and getting a top up of sheep nuts or oats.
Many farms in the North Island are drenched after all the rain and heavy money's being paid at Canterbury bull sales.
Ewe pregnancy scanning results are down in King Country but well up in Wairarapa and some farmers have stopped looking at the rain gauge in the Nelson region, it's been so wet.
Hawke's Bay had a 23 degree day on June the first and Balclutha farmers have been reaching for their stubbies - it's been very warm there too.
There's been a bit of badly needed rain in King Country and it has warmed up again after a very cold week last week. Farmers are getting into winter mode in Canterbury with stock starting on winter feed crops.
Frosty temperatures nipped the heels of many North Island regions this week while in the South Island much needed rain fell in Marlborough and Canterbury.
Farmers at Hamilton's Frankton sales are buying in the hope that rain will eventually arrive.
In Hawkes Bay a lamb finisher currently has 27,000 labms on his farm, about 5,000 more than last year, because there's so much feed.
It's been another great week in Canterbury with weather as good as you could expect for the time of year. Conditions are excellent for newly establishing seed and grain crops.
Gisborne vegetable growers are sick of being blamed for food price hikes which means people are chosing less healthy food options, and grass growth in mid and south Canterbury is exceptional for this time of year.
The East Coast suffered more slips and roading damage from former Cyclone Fili, but nearly all other regions of New Zealand would rather welcome some rain - just not too much.
It's been a bit of a slow start for the early green kiwifruit harvest in Bay of Plenty with warm nights and mornings and some Southland dairy farmers are drying their herds off well over a month early because of the extreme dry.
Stock are getting through broken fences on sodden farms in the North Island and gobbling feed normally shut up for the lean winter months while in Southland and parts of Otago no substantial rain has fallen for the past four months leaving paddocks dry and feed supplies low.
Stock are pushing a mouthful of feed into the ground every step they take on the East Coast after downpours this week and in dry South Otago, some sheep farmers are having to tup ewes on supplementary feed while dairy farmers are thinking of drying off early.
Conditions on Horowhenua dairy farms are challenging enough to keep people on their toes. It's been nearly a month since the last rainfall. Grape harvesting's kicked into gear this week in Marlborough. Winter crops are struggling and grass growth is slow in Southland.
In the Pukekohe district the fine weather is ideal for kiwifruit harvesting but vegetable crops are still relying on irrigation. Contactors in Central Otago are doing a third cut of lucence and lambs are being drafted and going away at good weights.
Cool and damp conditions in Gisborne have been good for leafy crops but not so good for grapes and squash which love the hot and dry over ripening. On the West Coast a farmer at Hari Hari has been making silage and putting in the last of the winter crops this week.
Rain and now sun mean grass growth has been phenomenal around the country but the grain and seed harvest in Canterbury have suffered.
The weather in Taranaki has calmed down and farms are drying out after storms two weekends in a row. The early variety Smitten, Breeze and Gala apples are being picked and packed for export in the Nelson/Motueka region.
Significant rain has caused damage on farms in parts of the country but elsewhere it has been welcomed.
Waikato is teetering on the edge of a drought and grape crops are looking bountiful in Marlborough.
Nets are going on in a Hawke's Bay vineyard. Grapes are at or just past the veraison stage. In Canterbury there are large areas of grass seed crops cut waiting for warm dry weather for harvesting.
Manawatu and Rangitikei farmers will spend much of summer cleaning up the mess after this week's flooding, and in the south, boysenberry crops have suffered in the wet.