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The parched land on Hawkes Bay Fed Farmers president Jim Galloway’s farm shows just how dry it is in the region.
Farmers in Hawkes Bay are facing a desperate situation with no relief in sight from the disastrous drought gripping the region.
In-lamb ewes and in-calf cows are being slaughtered simply because there is no feed on farms for them. Peter Burke reports.
Federated Farmers Hawkes Bay chair Jim Galloway says farmers he’s spoken with – who’ve lived in the area for a long time – say it’s the worst drought they have experienced and possibly the worst in living memory.
“It just keeps going on and on,” he told Rural News.
Galloway says the small dairy industry in the region has taken a big hit, especially those who are autumn calving.
He says many sheep and beef farmers have already drafted out the bottom third of their hoggets and, instead of putting them in the main flock, have either sent them to sales or the freezing works. Vets have told him that, as a result of this and the lack of feed, scanning numbers are down.
“Let’s face it, we are not far from June and pasture growth in some of the higher country will slow markedly – even if they get rain. They will be struggling to grow their way out of the drought,” he told Rural News.
Galloway says one of the worst hit areas is just under the ranges around Kereru and Crownthorp, but it is also bad around Tikokino and Takapau.
He says a lot of farmers are trying to work out the next class of stock they can sell, if they even will sell and what effect this may have on the viability of their business long term.
“The reality is that the quicker they make decisions the better because if they get rid of stock they will have less worry and it will be better for them in the long term,” he says.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
The grass may be growing again in the drought-stricken coastal area of Taranaki, but the outlook for many farmers there is far from rosy.
Limping towards the end of the season is how Richard Walker describes the situation he's facing due to prolonged drought in coastal areas of Taranaki.
Many contract milkers in badly drought affected regions around the country are coming under severe financial stress and farm owners are being urged to help them through a bad patch until the start of the new season.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
Fonterra has unveiled the first refrigerated electric truck to deliver dairy products across Auckland.
Research and healthcare initiatives, leadership and dedication to the sector have been recognised in the 2025 Horticulture Industry Awards.
Virtual fencing and pasture management company Halter says its NZ operations has delivered a profit of $2.8 million after exclusion of notional items.
Manuka honey trader Comvita slumped to a $104 million net loss last financial year, reflecting prolonged market disruption, oversupply and pricing volatility.
The Government has struck a deal with New Zealand's poultry industry, agreeing how they will jointly prepare for and respond to exotic poultry diseases, including any possible outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI).
The conversion of productive farmland into trees has pretty much annihilated the wool industry.
