Rnz: On The Farm

Drought hit Hawke's Bay has had rain and in the South Island, Tekapo farmers have been working in temperatures that have barely hit five degrees.

Farmers in the picturesque Matukituki Valley near Wanaka are enjoying being able to move stock easily now that tourist traffic has quietened down. The mild start to winter around much of the country is finally giving pasture a chance to grow.

Ewe scanning is underway in the north, which has seen more welcome rain this week and dairy farmers are catching their breath before calving.

Farmers in the far north have had to get their wet weather gear out this week and pruning has started on orchards and vineyards.

Frosts tickled much of the North Island this week. Now saleyards have opened the demand for store stock has improved.

It's still horrifically dry in Southern Hawkes Bay and some Gisborne mandarins are being held on trees until demand picks up post lockdown, while in the South Island green kiwifruit are being harvested in Nelson, while Marlborough through to Northern Southland is desperately dry and supplements are hard to find and expensive.

Hawkes Bay is in dire straits with a continuing drought, Northland which was in one of the worst droughts on record, has had rain. A parched Marlborough received rain last weekend and South Otago is looking a picture.

Farmers in most parts of the country are longing for rain forecast for this weekend. RSE workers have finished long seasons in New Zealand but many can't get home to the Pacific because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Dams are being cleaned out in Northland to improve water storage and at the top of the South Island the hop harvest has been producing good yeilds.

Winter's on its way with a chill in the air and snow in the south but not nearly enough rain to break drought. Farmers are feeding the soil to keep growth going with more stock than normal to feed.

The beginning of the week was beautifully fine and far too dry in most of the North Island and in the South, snow has fallen on hills around the Mackenzie Basin.

As welcome rain dampens soils in many regions in time for winter sowing, farmers around the country share how they're coping with Covid-19.

Covid-19 is upsetting the labour supply for some harvests but a dollop of rain in certain drought stricken areas is cheering farmers up, although those in Marlborough are still begging for more.

It's cooled off a bit in the North Island but farmers are still hanging out for rain, while in the South Island, West Coast and Southland farms are going into autumn with pretty good pasture growth.

In parched Northland, a stock agent in Kaipara district says rain this week was enough to settle the dust, but that's about it. The West Coast has had a week of glorious, fine T-shirt and shorts weather - there's even an excess of grass in some places and baleage is being made.

The grape harvest is well underway in Hawkes Bay in what is a very early vintage this year. The biggest challenge for sheep farmers in Marlborough is keeping ewe condition up for the ram.

Each week our Country Life reporters check out the latest from farms and orchards around the country. South Waikato had thunder rolling around the district at the weekend but the rain was very choosy about where it fell. In Canterbury indications from arable farmers are that yields have been very good so far across cereals and small seeds.

Around Pukekohe, warm dry days have continued and growers have maintained the costly task of irrigating outdoor crops. Harvest is progressing well in Canterbury but, despite the dry weather, it has been quite slow because of overcast cooler conditions.

Around Pukekohe, the widespread drought continues to make life difficult for the outdoor vegetable industry. A dairy farmer near Balclutha in South Otago is in flood recovery mode. His farm is bordered by the Clutha and PomahakaII Rivers and both flooded.

The big dry continued in Northland this week with not a spot of rain to relieve drought conditions. Flooding in South Otago is starting to subside. A sheep and beef farmer near Balclutha recorded 185 millimetres of rain in 48 hours.