On the Farm for 31 May 2024

A dry autumn will make for a tough winter for many farmers across the lower North Island, meanwhile it's made a great end to harvest with growers in Hawke's Bay and Marlborough busy pruning. Northland - Te Tai Tokerau took a bit of a battering in recent storms though there was no significant damage. Our farmer contact said the region could do with some more rain, having only recorded about 15 millimetres of rain this week. He expected grass growth to be slow and feed to be "tight" this winter.Around Pukekohe, weather and growing conditions were good until the last week in May when squally thunderstorms swept over the district. Some crops were damaged with forceful wind and pea sized hail. However, due to the heavy supply of fresh vegetables in the domestic market place, losses are unlikely to be significant except for the grower.The dairy season is coming to an end in Waikato. It's been a terrific autumn, "one of the best for a long time" says a local rep. The mood is pretty happy, following a "reasonable" payout and good winter cover. There have been reports of some slug damage, leading to re-grassing. Sheep and beef farmers are hurting though. Feed conditions are good in Waikato but prices are poor.Grass-growth has been good in King Country, though it's been "knocked back" by recent frosts and rain. Some were still milking but starting to dry off. Most dairy farmers were taking a break and thinking about next steps, ahead of calving in August and a return to milking in September. Balancing the books has become harder, with rates increase proposals, high interest rates and rising costs. Dairy farmers have started feeding out supplementary supplies.Taranaki also had a good dowsing of rain this past week, but for farmers in the south it had come "too late" for this season. Most dairy farmers had stopped milking and dried off their cows by the start of May to help build pasture growth coming into winter. Many had already started eating into supplementary feed supplies. Milk production to the end of April was down about 4% compared to a very good season last year. It's been a "dream run" for kiwifruit growers in Bay of Plenty, and a season "to remember". Harvest wraps up for most this week, with some gold growers already into their pruning. The kiwifruit has been good quality and there's been plenty of it. Growers are also celebrating after authorities said they can keep using hydrogren cynamide, an agri-chemical used to help buds form. Read more about that here.Shedding sheep breeds like Wiltshires are becoming more popular…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details