Federated Farmers says the latest weather outlook for winter is not what farmers in drought areas were hoping for.
NIWA, released a forecast for the next three months on Thursday, in which the agency said it was expecting a milder than usual start to winter and only average rainfall.
Soil moisture levels in the upper North Island are also expected to be below normal.
Waikato Federated Farmers president Stew Wadey says that would make pastoral growth very difficult.
He says Waikato is desperately dry at the moment and needs about 120mm of rain over the next fortnight to hydrate the soil.