For those on the east coast of both islands, a look at the soil moisture map makes for pretty grim viewing, even if their paddocks have a tinge of green about them.
There’s some relief on the way for farmers in that part of the country with showers and areas of rain expected to roll in this week, but the entire east coast of the North Island, along with much of South Otago and Southland, is crying out for more than that.
Farmers in the north are facing a completely different problem, with facial eczema spore counts skyrocketing this month thanks to warmer and more humid weather than is traditional for this time of year.
That’s completely against the usual trend for April, when usually those counts are falling.
Unfortunately, there’s no good news on the horizon just yet, with weatherwatch.co.nz predicting another bad week thanks to a Tasman Sea low moving in and pulling down sub-tropical air over the upper North Island.
The big question is, however, are these weather conditions going to be the new normal?
Colin Williscroft
Humid autumn means FE still a risk
An unseasonably warm spell of wet weather across much of the North Island throughout April has seen a big spike in facial eczema (FE) spore counts at a time when the counts generally start to fall.
Milk and wine drive organic surge
Organic dairy products and wine have surged ahead in latest organic sales data, proving to be the star performers in the sector’s export markets.
Industry slams live exports ban
The demise of the livestock export trade has industry stakeholders outraged over the lack of consultation and in-depth investigation for the industry’s review.
Farmers will need a Plan B after ban
Many farmers will have to rethink their businesses following the Government’s announcement to ban livestock exports.
Approval given for forestry conversion
A company owned by European interests has been granted government approval to buy three North Island livestock farms to convert to forestry.
