A section of a road near the Central Hawke's Bay District village of Ongaonga was washed out after heavy rain hit the region earlier this year. Photo: RNZ / Jake McKee
Consistent rain in the Hawke's Bay is making life difficult for farmers, with rainfall in the region last month reaching about four times the historical average.
Heavy rain over the past three months has left rural roads severely damaged, with fears for coastal residents who received 100mm of rain in just a few days a few weeks ago.
MetService said heavy rain of 49mm fell at Hawke's Bay Airport in just a few days in late September - close to the historical average of 60.9mm for September.
A spokesperson said 146mm of rain was recorded in the region for September, well above the historical average of 30.9mm.
Last month, Central Hawke's Bay District Council said about $40 million worth of damage had been done to the district's roads, and the council was trying to get government funding to help fix them.
Waipukurau sheep and beef farmer Mike Peterson said ongoing rain over the past three months had left the ground sodden, without a chance to dry out.
Feed supplies were tight and the rain was making it harder to be out on the farm, tailing and docking, Peterson said.
"It really started raining in June and it seems like it hasn't stopped," he said.
"It's been an incredibly wet winter for us here in the Hawke's Bay.
"In fact, those that have been around a lot longer than I have been say it's been the wettest winter in over 50 years now, so this has been one out of the bag for sure."
The weekend brought another 40mm of rain to the region and it was forecast to rain every day this week, Peterson said.
"It's very unlike Hawke's Bay," he said.
"We're now in October, where we normally expect the westerly winds to be blowing and Hawke's Bay Anniversary weekend and the show, races are on in this district and nothing can happen, it's just absolutely sodden."
The region needed a few weeks of sunshine to dry things out, he said.
"It's affecting feed utilisation for sure," Peterson said.
"Livestock are starting to get a bit sick of it, to be honest, and they're starting to find it hard going, but probably the biggest impact that people are worried about is on the people.
"I think farmers have had enough of it. It's been an incredibly challenging winter, without any reprieve from what's been a consistently wet and terrible time over the last three months."
Central Hawke's Bay dairy farmer Jono Robson has had to buy more supplementary feed than he normally would at this time of the year, because the pasture was underwater and his cows could not eat it.
"It drops the utilisation of your pasture, making it harder to feed cows, it's pretty difficult to work in for staff," Robson said.
"And, of course, it's more expensive and results in lower production."
The wet weather was getting incredibly frustrating and the rain did not look like it was going to let up any time soon, Robson said.