Northland:

The last few days of drier weather has seen wet paddocks dry out for cultivation and planting. South Head is now about 95% planted and some early sown paddocks have emerged well. Germination is currently taking 8 to 10 days. Kerikeri and further north are about 60% planted, but the Dargaville area has been particularly wet until recently and only 40% of the expected area has been planted to date. Direct drilled crops were able to be planted while cultivated soils were still too wet and these direct drilled paddocks have emerged well. Grain and silage area is thought to be similar to last season (which was 20% down on 2014-15 season).

Waikato:

Five days without rain has seen a lot of action with cultivation and planting equipment. Further forecast rain activate pre-emergence sprays on those paddocks planted. The last two days has seen light frosts in some sheltered areas, but there are no reports of crop damage. There have been no reports of cutworm damage, but slugs and bird pulling damage have been noted on a number of paddocks, especially around the outside margins.

Planting is around two weeks later than normal with around 45% of the expected area planted to date. This is not a major problem, especially as the area has experienced frosts. Emergence is currently taking 8 to 9 days. Spare a thought for the contractors who are working very long hours between rainfall events and cannot be everywhere at once. Some replanting of drowned areas has been required. Maize planted area is likely to be down a further 5% this season.

Velvetleaf

Velvetleaf plants are already germinating at some sites and growers are advised to be vigilant. See photo of young velvetleaf plant, not to be mistaken for mallow. Also be on the lookout for Noogoora bur and Alligator weed or any other unusual weed. FAR says it is happy to have them identified for growers if they are unsure, (take photo with a smartphone and note the location).

Environmental Update for Waikato maize growers

In August the Waikato Collaborative Stakeholder Group (CSG) completed its collaborative process with industry, iwi and community and made recommendations to the Waikato Regional Council for a Regional Plan Change for the Waikato and Waipa River catchments. The Plan Change Proposal is available for the public review and submissions.

Any person or group can make a submission either supporting, opposing or expressing a neutral stance on the plan and its various parts. These need to be developed and delivered by 8 March 2017.

FAR and the Regional Council are working to keep you informed about the process and its progress. Our recent GroundRules newsletter has links to summaries of the new rules on the Waikato Regional website (note submission dates have changed since this was written).

In the future, Farm Environment Plans (FEPs) are likely to be necessary and will require crop input data such as fertiliser records, soil test results, individual paddock applications etc, and so please keep all such data from 2014 onwards.

Bay of Plenty:

Another week of better weather has seen a lot of cultivation and planting and about 95% of the maize grain area is now planted. Maize silage planting is slower, as many paddocks require grass silage to be taken off first. About 70% is now planted. The earliest planted maize has emerged well and apart from some bird damage is looking very good. The area planted in maize this season is expected to be only slightly down this season.

Gisborne:

A few days of fine weather followed by wet ones has seen only moderate planting progress and only about 35% of the area's maize crop is now in the ground. This is unusually late for this region. Early emergence looks reasonable, but wet spots in some paddocks are suffering seed rot.

Hawke’s Bay:

Unlike other areas, Hawke's Bay has been drier and a lot of planting has occurred. Early planted crops have emerged well and look promising at this very early stage. The maize grain area is expected to be down by more than 40%, but the maize silage area is only slightly down on last season.

Taranaki:

The Hawera area in particular has been drier and suitable for planting (see weather data) and a number of crops have emerged already but most are just emerging. While wetter in the New Plymouth area, some good progress in planting has occurred. Overall, the region is 90% planted. A light frost occurred in South Taranaki but as yet there are no reports of crop damage.

Manawatu:

Some good progress has been made with regards to in planting, especially on the drier soil types and close to 50% of the region's crop area is planted. There was a frost earlier in the week, but no crop damage has been reported. Wet areas in grass silage paddocks (prior to maize) have also slowed progress. The requirement is for some fine dry weather.

Wairarapa:

The first plantings of maize are just coming through with no reports of damage from Monday's frost. Close to 50% of the area's crop is planted but progress has been slow due to wet weather. Emergence is currently taking 14 days from planting.

Canterbury:

While the maize area is well down on the area of two seasons ago, planting progress has been rapid and around 80% of the expected area is now in the ground. Some frosts have occurred but the early planted areas tend to be near the more frost-free coast.