New Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy is meeting farmers in central Hawke's Bay on Tuesday to get a first hand look at dry conditions that are biting deeper there and in other North Island regions.
Farmers in central areas of Hawke's Bay have been forced to sell more stock as pastures become parched and they run out of feed.
Mr Guy will meet Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills, central Hawke's Bay Mayor Peter Butler who's also a farmer, and Mike Barham of the East Coast Rural Support Trust.
The minister will also visit the site of the proposed Ruataniwha Water Scheme, designed to provide storage for irrigation in the dry summer months.
As rivers drop to their minimum flows, irrigation restrictions are being imposed in Hawke's Bay and other regions including parts of Waikato and Manawatu-Whanganui.