Our grass is greener!

After a hell year, with floods and raging winds, North farmers are now on the right side of the fence.WHILE dairy farmers in the drought-hit Waikato watch their pastures turn to dust, Northland farmers are enjoying a "golden year" of high milk prices and lush grass.
It's a dramatic reversal of fortunes for farmers such as 72-year-old Hikurangi Swamp veteran Jack Ilich.
Last March his farm disappeared under three metres of water; in July it flooded again, with raging winds bringing down power lines and tearing the roof off his barn, destroying 2000 bales of hay. But this summer it's a different story, with good weather aiding a "wonderful recovery".
His herd of 365 jersey cows is on track to produce 100,000kg of milk-solids this year, well up on the 86,000 of last season.
Mr Ilich estimates he was $300,000 out of pocket after the floods last year, but looks set to make that back comfortably this season, plus a little bit more.
"I always milk until the end of March but this year I'll probably keep going until April or May, the grass is so green," he said.
The 5mm of rain that doused Mr Ilich's paddocks overnight on Saturday was very welcome.
"The weather looks like it will be doing what we want, a bit of rain and a bit of sun."
The Mid North was also prospering, with excellent pasture for this time of year, former Okaihau dairy farmer Peter Aickin said.
"Normally they say Northland's one of the hardest places to farm, but this year it's been easier farming in Northland."
Farmers of New Zealand operations director Bill Guest said it was a "golden year" for Northland dairy farmers with the Fonterra payout up, grass all around the region and more rain in the Whangarei and Kaipara districts in the past week.
"We haven't had a severe drought up here for at least 10 years," he said.
Mr Guest said Waikato farmers had in the past spurned Northland hay and silage containing kikuyu, dock and weeds. But this year they didn't care. "They're not fussy about weeds now."
He knew one farmer who had baled 40ha of kikuyu which had been quickly sold for a large price in the south.
Kumara farmers who had made hay before planting their crops had also found a ready market for it in the Waikato.
The Far North has been drier, but Farmers of New Zealand president Ian Walker said the rain had been enough for grass growth and water supplies.
"It's been reasonably green. Every time it looked like the situation would turn bad, it rained."
Mr Walker said milk production would decrease by about 5 per cent because of the unusual start to summer, the overall picture looked positive.
Waikato farmer Brian Martinovich - who moved from Ruawai to the Waikato in 1981 - said his wife was drying off her 480-strong dairy herd near Morrinsville because of the drought.
Production was down 15-20 per cent on the 2006-07 season.
"She's only been able to keep going this long because her son Brett bought round bales from Northland a month ago for $70 a bale ... Bales are now being offered for $200 each on Trade Me."
At Maramarua, Mr Martinovich said his 800-cow split calving farm was "struggling on" with reduced production. In a lifetime of farming he had never before experienced a drought starting in January.
Whangarei real estate salesman Stewart Ruddell, who with his son Glen runs beef and grows maize on their family farm at Parakao, said they had just returned from a cattle-buying foray as far south as Taumarunui.
"Down in the King Country the creeks have dried up and farmers are more short of water than they are of feed," Mr Ruddell said. "Because there has been a bit of rain there in the past week farmers are hoping the drought has broken and are standing firm on prices."