The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Damien O'Connor monitors dry conditions in fear of drought in regions

RNZ
20 Jan, 2020 12:15 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas

By Maja Burry of RNZ

Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor says he's keeping a close eye on dry conditions around the country.

Record low rainfall in Northland has the region on the brink of drought, and some farmers face making a loss as summer feed crops fail.

Federated Farmers Northland president John Blackwell said there was no significant rainfall on the horizon and the situation was becoming serious.

"Most [farmers] are coping well now, it just depends how long it stays dry for ... Northland has had long droughts that go as far as May," Blackwell said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"By the end of this month I think we'll be looking at it quite seriously, about declaring this a drought area."

In a statement, O'Connor said he was receiving regular updates from officials at the Ministry for Primary Industries, who had been monitoring conditions around the country over the last few months.

O'Connor said industry groups were reporting that farmers in dry areas were generally prepared and were managing so far.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If [it] reaches a point where the situation is beyond the community's ability to continue farming or growing through it, then I would assess whether declaring an adverse event is warranted. This would trigger government financial assistance for recovery support," he said.

- RNZ

Discover more

New Zealand

Drying out: Parts of North Island could soon be in drought

09 Jan 11:00 PM
New Zealand

Water restrictions in place across regions on verge of drought

14 Jan 05:56 PM

Bushfires put pressure on Australia's dairy sector

15 Jan 12:35 AM

Heat 'plays havoc' on kiwi and other birds in Northland

16 Jan 06:00 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Dairy price dip won’t last long - expert

03 Jul 02:30 AM
The Country

North warned thunderstorms possible as watch issued

03 Jul 02:25 AM
The Country

Sir David Carter talks politics and farming on The Country

03 Jul 01:59 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Dairy price dip won’t last long - expert

Dairy price dip won’t last long - expert

03 Jul 02:30 AM

NZX head of dairy insights Cristina Alvarado said the dip in prices was not surprising.

North warned thunderstorms possible as watch issued

North warned thunderstorms possible as watch issued

03 Jul 02:25 AM
Sir David Carter talks politics and farming on The Country

Sir David Carter talks politics and farming on The Country

03 Jul 01:59 AM
Heavy rain hits with 30 weather alerts across NZ, fibre outage and evacuations top of South Island
live

Heavy rain hits with 30 weather alerts across NZ, fibre outage and evacuations top of South Island

03 Jul 01:24 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP