Displaying items by tag: weather

NIWA researchers are working with five Canterbury farmers to develop and trial an innovative tool that generates tailored, site-specific weather forecasts to help manage irrigation.

With Southland drenched and the West Coast battered by a second week of storms, Federated Farmers believes much of New Zealand's farmland has benefited from summer rain excepting Hawke's Bay and parts of Gisborne.

Federated Farmers recommends farmers have contingency plans in place in case the current mild El Nino intensifies, bringing a higher risk of drought, Federated Farmers adverse events spokesperson Katie Milne says.

Prolonged wet weather and surface flooding is causing concern on-farm during a very busy period in the farming calendar, with calving and in some pockets, lambing, underway.

NIWA is predicting average to above average temperatures for early winter, May to July, for most of the country – except for "near average" in the east of the South Island.

Recent releases by Statistics New Zealand point to a bumper export performance led by our farm system, largely due to a wetter summer which allowed many regions to increase productivity. However, some dark clouds are gathering.

Rainfalls and temperatures around the country are likely to be near normal for almost all regions, says NIWA.

Despite good levels of rainfall throughout the region, dairy farmers in South Otago and Southland are still managing difficult dry conditions.

Weather extremes across the country are presenting a new challenge for 2012 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards entrants.

THE WEATHER and the transport rules relating to work time are causing frustration for a North Island contractor.