A run of drier weather has farmers staying vigilant, with rain needed to avoid an autumn drought.

According to the National Insitute of Water and Atmospheric Research’s (Niwa) most recent drought index, large parts of the coastal region of Manawatū-Whanganui have “extremely dry” and “very dry” conditions.

In these areas, Niwa recorded between 5-15mm of rain in the 15 days to Friday, compared to an average of 50mm.

Sheep and beef farmer Grant Adkins said feed levels were dropping and if there was no rain, that would worsen.

“At the moment, there’s still plenty of space with the meat companies so people are able to kill stuff, and store prices haven’t crashed, so it’s still possible to sell stock,” Adkins said.

“It is creeping south, and most people have reasonable feed covers, but it’s definitely going to get tight.”

Adkins said it was important to remember dry weather in the summer months was expected and there was no reason to panic yet.

Federated Farmers Whanganui president Ben Fraser said while there had been the odd drop of rain, it hadn’t been enough to recharge the ground water table and get levels back to where they needed to be.

“There is an increasing concern amongst farmers as things continue to dry out – the forecast isn’t looking good anytime soon,” Fraser said.

“We are being vigilant to make sure there is enough water for our stock to drink, but more rain is definitely needed.”

Former Federated Farmers Whanganui president Robert Ervine, who has 30 years’ experience in the dairy industry, said it had been an excellent spring for farmers but if the dry weather kept going, it could be a very hard autumn.

“It affects all farmers, as all animals need to have feed for good performance, but it’s probably more visual for a dairy farmer, as every day you milk the cows and see the line on the vat dropping,” he said.

“You try not to have to make a huge decision like drying the herd off, but every week you have to make small decisions to react to the conditions.”

Cropping farmer Alan Taylor said the current “long, dry periods” had been favourable for his type of farm, but if the dry weather continued it would have a negative impact.

“We don’t want to go into autumn with too prolonged a drought, because autumn droughts are the worst thing you can get for any farmer,” Taylor said.

“The problem is you don’t have enough soil moisture to grow enough winter feed, and no one wants to see animals stressed under heat, without food.”

Meanwhile, Ervine said the weather heading into the next few weeks of March would determine how bad the situation got for farmers.

“A drought’s quite insidious. It sneaks up on you slowly.”

For farmers, any rain was not necessarily positive, because light rain could result in fungi in the grass following heightened temperatures producing spores that cause facial eczema – a disease affecting cows – which can cause liver damage and reduced production.

Adkins said farmers were hoping for heavy rain.

For farmers dealing with the potential stress of a drought, it was important to take breaks when they could and get off the farm, Ervine said.

“It’s that time of year [when] you don’t have to be on the farm all day, every day,” he said.

“If you’re feeling a bit low about the situation at the moment, it’s really important to take a break and get off the farm, or to speak to someone.”

Community events such as Surfing For Farmers Whanganuicould offer a much-needed break from farming life.

Any farmers with concerns or who need help could contact the Ruapehu-Whanganui Rural Support Trust on 0800 787 254.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.