Farming Conditions

It's been a marvellous week for harvesting kiwifruit in Bay of Plenty. On Marlborough hill farms calf weaning has finished and ewes are on a fast rotation while the ram is out. Audio

Hawkes' Bays grape harvest is 80 to 90 percent through. Horowhenua's had good grass growth but temperatures have taken a dive. Some rain and cooler temperatures this week in Canterbury have seen… Audio

North Island grape growers have had ideal weather for their harvest so far and, in the South Island, Canterbury has had its first frost of the season. Read our guide to what's happening on NZ farms… Audio

Hawkes Bay is looking for rain to freshen things up and get autumn growth moving. There is plenty of feed on farms but it is not good quality. Calf sales have got underway in South Otago and prices… Audio

Paddocks are greening up in many North Island places while in the South Island Marlborough is going quickly from brown to green. Audio

In Bay of Plenty the kiwifruit export picking season has started, and, for the first time ever, Zespri will pack more gold kiwifruit than green this season. Marlborough farms are looking a picture… Audio

Beautiful gentle rain has been falling in King Country and Nelson/Mouteka has had a good dose too. Audio

The tomato harvest is coming to an end in Gisborne, maize silage is being cut across the North Island and in south Otago, shearing continues. Audio

Even previously green areas in the North Island are suddenly looking very dry. Southland's still got green grass and crops are growing, but all farmers, and some orchardists, want the predicted rain… Audio

Coastal North Taranaki is very dry. There's a lot of feeding out taking place and, because of the shortage of feed, animals are being culled. Another hot dry week in Mid-Canterbury's allowed arable… Audio

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The North Island is generally coping well with the summer conditions, but in the South Island the Tasman district and Eastern Marlborough are very dry. Irrigation supplies are… Audio

Both the North and South Islands have been dripping under sweltering temperatures but generally the North Island farms have good amounts of feed. In Canterbury spring barley is going off for Gladfield… Audio

What's happening on farms and orchards around New Zealand? Each week Radio New Zealand’s Country Life reporters talk to people in rural areas across the country to find out. Audio

Taranaki is well set up. There's been plenty of rain and lots of silage and hay cut. Milk production is about 7 percent. In Southland there's heaps of baleage being made and everyone's getting the… Audio