Displaying items by tag: Drought

With the South Island's West Coast in the grip of drought, which is a highly unusual event, most farmers on the West Coast will have no idea how to cope with it or its aftermath.

IrrigationNZ says water storage needs to be fast-tracked to drought-proof agriculture as New Zealand can no longer carry the cost of a significant drought every five years.

Agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank has moved to reassure clients impacted by drought conditions in the North Island that it will work to support them.

Special 'Farming in Drought' Farm Days will be held in Wellington (Sunday, March 17), Rotorua (Sunday, March 17) and Tauranga (Sunday, March 24). Free and open to the public, they are intended to show how farmers and farms cope with drought.

DON’T EXPECT too much change from the present weather patterns, says weather expert Philip Duncan of weatherwatch.co.nz.

Industry body DairyNZ is running a series of 'beat the heat' events in the Bay of Plenty and Taupo in March, to provide farmers with advice on getting through the drought.

A state of drought has been officially declared in the South Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay regions today by the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy.

BNZ has announced a package to provide immediate financial relief for affected farmers, in anticipation of the government's drought declaration being extended beyond the Northland region.

Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills is urging all farmers in areas declared official drought zones to talk to their accountants following today's announcement that Inland Revenue will exercise its income equalisation discretions to help affected famers meet their tax obligations.

DairyNZ is joining with other agencies to coordinate a range of drought support mechanisms for Northland and other North Island dairy farmers, with a focus on facilitating farmer-to-farmer advice.