Rnz: On The Farm

The East Coast's been warm with no wind which farmers have loved but they're all mindful it's getting dry. That's not reflected in sale yard prices yet however, the store market for lambs and cattle is strong. The top of the South Island is very dry. Farmers are flat out weaning lambs and trading cattle are going to the works as everyone gets down to capital stock.

Northland has had a good week with sunshine during the day and showers at night. There is enough rain to keep pasture ticking over which means there's still good demand for store cattle at the sale yards. Feed is tight and dryland crops are showing moisture stress in parts of Canterbury that had no rainfall in November.

Hot, calm days are suiting bees on orchards, but Hawkes Bay hasn't had any significant rain for six or seven weeks and it needs some. Eastern Marlborough is drying up too so farmers are offloading lambs and surplus ewes.

Very little grass silage has been made in dairy farming areas of the North Island so farmers are being warned they probably won't be able to buy any when they need it.

Hawkes Bay farmers are looking forward to the predicted moisture arriving this weekend. Milk production on dairy farms is ahead of last year and cows have been cycling particularly well. Canterbury's dried out very quickly over the last week after several days of nor west winds. The first of the new seasons lambs are being drafted at very good prices.

Maize is germinating well in most North Island areas, it's a little later going in than normal, and asparagus has had a terrific growing week. Lamb marking is in full swing in Central Otago and farmers are busy making hay, silage and bailage.

In King Country fine weather is let docking gangs separate thousands of lambs from their tails, and asparagus is growing better with warmer, drier conditions . Farmers in Canterbury are planting fodder beet and kale, while contractors are burning the midnight oil as they try and catch up on the previous wet weather periods.

At last some more stable fine weather is letting North Island farmers get onto cultivating pastures and making silage, while at the top of South Island flower bud thinning is underway in kiwifruit orchards.

Waikato has had a break from relentless rain this week but Canterbury has had plenty; 100 mils fell across the region halting cultivating, drilling and the spreading of fertiliser.

Docking has continued in King Country this week between the showers and despite muddy tracks and puddles in gateways. Wairarapa is looking lush, The planting of fodder beet and barley crops is underway in Canterbury.

In Horowhenua and it's hard to get any summer crops into the ground. Asparagus harvesting is underway but yields are down on last year. A good weather week in Canterbury has seen a flurry of activity on farms as things again dry out from a previously wet week.

Hill country Wairarapa farmers are expecting grass growth to rocket away after recent rain. Calving is drawing to a close in Southland and lambing has settled down after a run of wet weather.

Canterbury is drying out, allowing crops to be planted and paddocks that were in Kale and Beet cultivated. The North Island had a very warm end to the week.

The North Island is still swimming in water with regular heavy downpours, but ground temperatures are picking up. Temperatures are moving up in the South Island too, but the West Coast had a horror week of weather.

Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchardists are struggling to complete winter work because of the rain, but daffodils are looking cheerful on roadsides. There's been flurry of activity on arable farms in Canterbury as growers prepare ground for planting spring crops, although everything has ground to a halt again with rain at the end of the week.

Wet conditions on Marlborough farms are making it hard to get the lambs docked and brilliant sunshine has graced much of the North Island.

It's sounding like a broken record, but apart from Hawkes Bay and East Coast, it's still exceedingly wet everywhere in the North Island. The South Island's also very wet apart from South Otago and Southland.

The North Island's still totally over flowing with water and in the South Island, Marlborough farms are well into lambing while those in Southland are just starting.

The North Island's had a string of crispy frosty mornings which is helping dry out water logged pastures and lifting farmers' spirits. Calving is in full swing in Canterbury. Sheep farmers in Central Otago are in the thick of scanning and pre-lamb shearing.

The entire North Island remains totally water logged. The wet conditions are putting stress on all types of farming. Only five millimetres of rain turns soils to bogs. West Coast farmers are getting bobby pens ready as they head into the busy calving period.