Drought crisis talks as farmers suffer

The brutal summer that has left Wairarapa farmers struggling financially has led to crisis meetings in an effort to alleviate the suffering.

This summer had been the driest since 1972, with the amount of rainfall between November and February less than a third of the average.

Though the focus had been on Waikato, and the Government's radar tuned to what farmers in that region needed to survive, Wairarapa had suffered the most, Federated Farmers national president Charlie Pedersen said.

"The Wairarapa has been the worst hit by the drought because it started earlier and has been the last region to get rain, but certainly no drought-breaking stuff.

"It has been a damn long haul for Wairarapa farmers on the back of the drought last year and that is a region that has had two droughts in a row, so it has been very, very tough."

Rain heralded as a drought-buster has come for northern Canterbury, while downpours last month and for three days this week in Waikato have eased conditions.

Wairarapa has had just 30 millimetres of rain in three days this week, the first significant rainfall since December.

The cost of the drought is starting to tell, as farmers are forced to sell or cull non-producing stock in efforts to hang on and feed the animals that keep the farm business running.

Lamb and beef price gains are being wiped out by the high exchange rate, livestock markets are at a standstill and the prices of grazing and supplementary feed have gone through the roof.