On the Farm - a wrap of farming conditions around NZ

In Northland dairy farmers seem to be well set up for feed for spring but beef farmers are feeling the pinch a bit. The vines are waking up in Marlborough and sheep are spaced out for lambing in South Otago. Find out more about what's happening on farms and orchards around the country.

In Northland it's been warm - one farmer says he has mud up to his eyebrows but fortunately that's not the case across the region.  Dairy farmers seem to be well set up for feed for spring but beef farmers are feeling the pinch a bit. He says there have been a lot more calls to the Rural Support Trust than usual. Anxiety levels among farmers are high. There's also so much change coming for them that some are really struggling.

Around Pukekohe it had been a fine, sunny week without rain until Friday and ideal conditions for getting things done.  The Covid-19 lockdown, however, has posed challenges for a number of growers. Some have produce going to waste because there are no orders from closed restaurant and fast food chains. Other businesses that rely mainly on the supermarket trade are very short of labour. With Covid-19 detected at Pukekohe High School, any parents with children at the school are unavailable for work.

Waikato has been fine but on the cool side. Most cows have a have reasonable amount of grass in front of them, however as they head into the milking shed they become hungrier. The ag consultant we spoke to says he and his colleagues are working from home and are trying not to go out onto farms unless it's really urgent - they might have to head out if there's a labour dispute or if a farmer's very low on feed and not sure what to do next.

The farmer we called in the Bay of Plenty was in Wanaka when lock-down hit and couldn't leave until just after the travel exemption. He says they drove the 21 hours home without stopping - apart from to get petrol. He saw only one car between Wanaka and Geraldine and there were five cars and seven trucks on the Cook Strait ferry. On his dairy farm 85 percent of the cows have calved and it's been a pretty good run.  Just enough grass is growing. On the kiwifruit orchard - the push is on to get green vines pruned  before bud break in two weeks time. Packhouses still have fruit coming out of cool storage to be packed and shipped so they've reinstigated the systems hastily arranged for last year's lockdown.

The east coast around Gisborne has had a stunning week weather-wise. Conditions couldn't have been better for lambing.  It's been a relatively dry winter so croppers are working up their paddocks earlier than usual to prepare them for maize and squash crops.  There's a surprising amount of activity in rural areas - teams are finishing pruning grapes and construction's underway on new kiwifruit orchards.

In Hawke's Bay soil moisture levels are lower than they were this time last year - almost at record low levels for the time of year. However pasture is still managing to grow but  if you look to the hills there's a grey tinge. Farmers are looking skyward for rain forecast for the next few days. The main lambing is quietening down. The farm consultant we spoke to isn't having a great run with his flock of sheep - he has five. Old Faithful had triplets but sadly two died and a hogget rejected one of her lambs.

Manawatū has had a run of sunny days and the temperature has reached 18 degrees. It was wet so the ground needed to dry out a bit but in the last four days  we're told the region's been growing bucketloads of grass.  Ewes are starting to lamb in the hill country.

Wairarapa has had a few light frosts, beautiful sunshine and some warm rain. Farmers are flat out with lambing and calving.  Lambing will continue until mid September and it's hoped the conditions remain kind. The market desperately wants NZ product. There's traffic on rural roads as people servicing the rural community go about their business and farmers head out to buy supplies or have them delivered.

Horowhenua's welcomed the fine mild week. Young stock have been loving the sunshine. The first asparagus for the season should be in shops midway thorough next month. The odd spear is appearing now but only enough for a meal for the boss.  A lot of planning is going in to how to manage packing and picking with Covid restrictions - last year's lockdown didn't coincide with the harvest.

The vines are waking up in Marlborough and vineyard staff are scrambling to get pruning finished. Buds are already starting to swell on the early Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties. On hill country farms, lambing and calving's in full swing and so far, survival rates have been excellent . Feed supplies are just okay but soil temperatures have risen to over nine degrees at 10 centimetres. This is a trigger point for clover and bodes well for the newborn lambs as clover is paramount for their growth.

There's been some heavy rain in South Westland but our contact further north in the Grey Valley says conditions haven't been too bad on farm this week. His herd's a third of the way through calving and cows yet to calve are getting a top-up of bailage and swedes. The farm's in its own lockdown bubble and when the milk tanker comes every second day, the farmer and driver make sure they stay well clear of each other.

Thanks to a week of good weather in Canterbury, a Hororata cropping farmer's been able to plant 50 hectares of spring barley - it's destined for Gladfield Malt.  Paddock preparation for hybrid radish, linseed, peas and oats is also well down the track. Grass growth for the last couple of months has been good due to the lack of frosts. With three teenage boys home from school because of the lockdown the extra help in the afternoons is being well utilised! 

Sheep are spaced out for lambing in South Otago. A farmer near Balclutha says conditions aren't ideal for lambing as it's been wet and the average rainfall is well up for the year, but stock are in pretty good order. Hoggets and cattle are on the last of the winter crops and bailage and grain are in short supply. Some nitrogen's been applied to paddocks and with soil warming up to eight degrees, pastures are coming away nicely.

A farmer at Edendale in Southland says he's about 60 percent through calving across the four farms he manages. There's been some dry days this week but lots of early spring rain has made the management of the farms very challenging. Calves are getting multi-vitamin boosters and also probiotics to help fend off gut-related diseases. Milking cows are currently producing about 18 litres of milk a day- at their peak they'll be doing 25 litres plus.